Am.  Jour.  Piiarnj .  1 
January,  1898.  J 
Minutes. 
53 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  December  21,  1897. 
The  regular  Pharmaceutical  Meeting  was  held  at  3  p.m.,  with  Dr.  C.  B.  Lowe 
in  the  chair. 
The  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  allowed  to  stand  as  published. 
The  next  in  order  was  the  presentation  and  exhibition  of  specimens.  Among 
these  were  two  flowering  plants  of  Scotch  heather,  belonging  to  Mr.  Howard 
B.  French.  It  was  thought  that  these  would  be  of  interest  on  account  of  the 
sentiment  attaching  to  this  plant  in  Scotland.  Dr.  A.  W.  Miller  said  that  a 
species  of  heather,  Calluna  vulgaris,  grows  at  Egg  Harbor,  N.  J.,  where  it 
attains  a  height  of  2  or  3  feet,  the  conditions  seeming  to  favor  its  growth  in  that 
locality.  Samples  of  metallic  aluminum,  nickel  and  cobalt,  and  one  of  pyro- 
lusite  (from  Reno,  Nev.)  were  donated  by  Mr.  Charles  Bullock.  The  Registrar, 
Mr.  T.  S.  Wiegand,  presented  specimens  of  metallic  zinc,  antimony,  copper 
and  manganese.  Samples  of  several  kinds  of  material  used  for  water  nitration 
were  received  from  Dr.  F.  E.  Stewart,  and  a  sample  of  false  or  Bombay  mace, 
which  is  used  as  an  adulterant,  was  sent  by  Mr.  Richard  M.  Shoemaker. 
On  motion,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  the  donors  of  specimens. 
A  paper  on  "Liquid  Benzoin  for  Benzoinating  Lard,"  was  read  by  J.  W. 
England,  in  behalf  of  the  author,  Richard  M.  Shoemaker. 
Samples  of  gum  benzoin,  the  liquid  benzoin  and  benzoinated  lard,  made  by 
the  use  of  the  latter,  accompanied  the  paper. 
Professor  Trimble  spoke  of  the  particular  value  of  this  paper  from  the  stand- 
point of  its  utility.  He  attributed  the  preservative  action  of  benzoin  mostly  to 
the  benzoic  acid,  which,  he  said,  appeared  to  have  a  preservative  effect  on  vege- 
table and  animal  matter,  while  boric  acid  is  most  largely  used  for  preserving 
animal  substances.  Others  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  preservative  action  is 
due  to  the  volatile  constituents  or  to  the  resin. 
Upon  request,  Dr.  A.  W.  Miller  presented  quite  an  interesting  description  of 
the  plants  conspicuous  on  our  streets  previous  to  Christmas,  in  a  paper  having  the 
title  :  "  Botany  on  Market  Street."  These  plants  are  mostly  evergreens,  some 
of  them  being  brought  from  the  Southern  States,  and,  in  order  to  make  the 
description  instructive  as  well  as  pleasing,  the  scientific  and  common  names 
were  both  given.  An  occasional  introduction  of  poetical  selections,  inspired 
either  by  the  customs  of  this  season  of  the  year  or  by  some  particular  plant, 
harmonized  well  with  the  subject. 
"A  Contribution  to  the  Knowledge  of  the  Gum  from  the  Oil  Tree"  was  the 
subject  of  a  highly  meritorious  paper  read  by  Charles  W.  Dirmitt. 
Professor  Trimble  remarked  upon  the  interest  which  attaches  to  this  so-called 
•gum,  on  account  of  the  relation  which  it  appears  to  sustain  to  the  higher  fatty 
acids.  He  called  attention  to  samples  of  the  gum,  and  of  the  residue  left  after 
•distillation. 
A  paper  entitled  "  On  the  Use  of  Acetone  as  a  Solvent  in  Preparing  the  Offi- 
cial Resins,"  was  presented  by  Edward  T.  Hahn.  The  author  stated  that  ace- 
tone seemed  to  be  specially  adapted  as  a  solvent  for  resinous  materials,  and 
that  when  applied  to  the  drugs  for  the  preparation  of  the  above  substances  it 
readily  penetrated  chem,  and  as  a  result  percolation  was  more  rapid  than  when 
alcohol  was  employed.  Samples  of  resins  prepared  both  with  alcohol  and  with 
acetone  were  very  similar  in  appearance. 
