A\ugrai,m3RM'}        Pharmaceutical  Colleges,  etc.  381 
prevent  them  from  breaking  too  readily.  Mr.  Desnoix  said  that  the  same 
result  is  obtained  if  the  glycerin  is  not  washed  out  of  the  lead  plaster. 
At  the  meeting  held  June  4th  Mr.  Stan.  Martin  exhibited  Persian  opium  in 
sticks,  from  which,  by  the  ordinary  processes,  no  morphia  could  be  obtained  ; 
also  a  sample  of  kino  from  Soudan  which  is  unknown  in  Europe.  When  ex- 
amined by  the  microscope  it  does  not  appear*  to  have  been  subjected  to  any 
particular  manipulation  ;  water  dissolves  80  per  cent  of  it ;  its  low  price  recom- 
mends it  for  use  in  the  arts. 
Mr.  Gosselet,  Vice-President  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Northern 
France,  communicated  by  letter  a  decision  by  the  court  of  Douai,  that  cod- 
liver  oil  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  aliment,  and  may  be  sold  by  grocers.  Some 
questions  submitted  by  the  district  attorney  were  discussed,  and  by  the  Society 
of  Paris  unanimously  decided  as  follows  :  Cod-liver  oil  is  a  simple  drug  and  a 
true  medicine,  and  should  not  be  sold  in  medicinal  quantities  by  druggists  or 
grocers  ;  there  is  a  distinction  to  be  made  between  the  oil  prepared  according 
to  the  pharmacopoeia  by  a  particular  process  for  internal  use,  and  that  used  by 
tanners,  which  is  usually  more  or  less  impure  fish  oil. 
Mr.  L.  Soubeiran  communicated  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  J.  E.  Howard, 
informing  that  he  had  planted  in  the  open  air  near  Cottenham  several  speci- 
mens of  Cinchona  calisaya,  which  are  thriving  well ;  he  adds  that  Professor 
Baillon  has  had  a  similar  experience  this  year  near  Paris. 
Mr.  Planchon,  in  behalf  of  Prof.  Fliickiger,  presented  a  detailed  inventory 
of  a  pharmacy  at  Dijon  from  the  year  1439.  It  is  a  curious  document,  and 
valuable  for  the  history  of  pharmacy. 
Mr.  Toselli,  by  invitation,  exhibited  his  apparatus  for  making  ice,  and  pro- 
duced in  five  minutes  a  block  weighing  500  grams,  using  nitrate  of  ammonium 
by  dissolving  it  in  water,  as  the  source  of  cold.  Mr.  Poggiale  regards  the 
apparatus  as  very  ingenious,  but  believes  that  of  Mr.  Carre  preferable,  because 
it  does  not  require  the  transportation  of  material  at  an  elevated  price  for  the 
production  of  the  ice. 
Mr.  Mayet  read  a  note  on  the  preparation  of  antiscorbutic  syrup  from  a  fluid 
extract;  this  created  considerable  discussion  in  favor  of  and  in  opposition  to 
the  proposed  change.  It  appears  that  the  fluid  extracts  and  concentrated 
tinctures  now  met  with  in  French  commerce  are  often  worthless  preparations  ; 
Mr.  Mayet  therefore  proposes  to  critically  experiment  with  the  processes. 
Mr.  Boudet  reported  that  the  Minister  of  Public*  Instruction,  on  behalf  of 
the  Minister  of  War,  had  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Academy  of  Medicin, 
requesting  an  opinion  on  the  fusion  of  military  medicin  and  pharmacy,  on  the 
subordination  of  the  latter  to  the  former,  or  on  maintaining  their  present  rela- 
tions. The  Academy  has  appointed  a  committee  of  nine,  only  three  of  which 
number,  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  regrets  to  hear,  are  pharmacists,  while  six 
are  physicians.  Mr.  Poggiale,  a  member  of  the  committee,  believes  that  the 
Academy  will  decide  in  favor  of  the  present  status. 
The  General  Pharmaceutical  Association  of  Belgium  met  in  the  free 
unirersity  of  Brussels,  May  4th  last.  The  principal  business  transacted  was 
*'he  consideration  of  the  amended  constitution  ;  as  adopted  every  member  has 
