278  Minutes  of  Pharmaceutical  Meetings,  {AjUn°ei,w^ 
though  it  may^be  somewhat  rusted.  Upon  the  surface  thus  prepared  a  concen- 
trated solution  of  chloride  of  gold  is  poured  and  the  mercury  volatilized  by 
heating  before  the  lamp  or  in  a  furnace.  The  result  is  that  a  gold  surface 
remains  behind  which  is  susceptible  of  a  bright  polish.  With  silver  and  plati- 
num, it  is  said,  similar  results  may  be  obtained.—  Ibid. 
A  New  Solvent  for  Iodine. — Dr.  I.  Walz.— I  find  that  glacial  acetic  acid  is 
an  excellent  solvent  for  iodine,  certainly  not  inferior  to  alcohol.  On  heating 
acetic  acid  with  excess  of  iodine  to  boiling,  and  then  allowing  to  cool  slowly, 
beautiful,  large,  slender  crystals  of  iodine  will  form  (sometimes  half  an  inch 
long).  The  crystals  formed  from  supersaturated  alcohol  solution  of  iodine  are 
short,  of  arrow-head  shape,  and  by  no  means  so  abundant,  for  glacial  acetic  acid 
takes  up  far  more  iodine  hot  than  cold.  I  hope  you  will  make  this  easily  exe- 
cuted experiment,  and  you  will  then  see  the  finest  iodine  crystals  yet  produced. 
If  saturated  alcoholic  and  glacial  acetic  solutions  of  iodine  are  mixed  in  equal 
proportions,  and  allowed  to'  stand,  acetic  ether  is  formed.  The  presence  of  a 
little  Mn02  and  a  drop  of  SCU  H2  seems  to  promote  the  formation,  but  is  quite 
unnecessary — Ibid.,  April,  1873. 
Ipfflta  of  %  f  jprmareulital  luting. 
A  pharmaceutical  meeting  was  held  May  20th,  Mr.  Joseph  P.  Bolton  in  the 
chair.  In  absence  of  the  Registrar,  William  Mclntyre  was  elected  to  act  in 
that  position  pro  tern. 
The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and  approved. 
The  Chairman  introduced  Mr.  John  Butler,  of  Germantown. 
Prof.  Maisch  made  the  following  presentations  :  Two  volumes  of  the  Swiss 
Weekly  Journal  of  Pharmacy  for  the  years  1870 — 71  ;  Proceedings  of  the  Mont- 
real College  of  Pharmacy,  containing  papers  on  the  Eucalypts  of  Australia 
and  on  essential  oils  obtained  from  various  Victorian  plants  ;  from  Mr.  J. 
Creuse,  preparations  of  iron,  free  from  ferruginous  taste,  made  by  his  new 
method  with  alkaline  citrates,  sesqui-iodide  of  iron,  syrup  of  ferric  iodide, 
elixir  of  the  same  and  tincture  of  chloride  of  iron. 
Salts  of  the  sesqui  oxide  of  iron  are  now  preferred  for  medical  use;  this 
being  the  state  in  which  iron  is  always  found  in  animal  and  vegetable  sub* 
stances  used  for  food. 
Granular  effervescent  Vichy  salts,  very  handsome  in  appearance,  made  by 
Keasby  &  Mattison,  of  Philadelphia,  was  exhibited. 
The  new  General  Index  of  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  was  shown 
and  its  arrangement  explained.  Mr.  Wilder  has  produced  a  very  creditable 
work,  consisting  of  two  parts — an  alphabetical  index  of  the  contents  of  the 
papers  published  in  forty-two  volumes  of  the  Journal  and  one  of  the  authors. 
Pi  of.  Maisch  exhibited  a  plant,  Asclepias  curassavica,  L.,  the  root  of  which 
is  used  in  the  West  Indies  in  place  of  ipecacuanha. 
