54 
Notes  and  News. 
f  A.m.  Jour.  Pharm 
X    January,  18de. 
Mr.  James  T.  Shinn  remarked  upon  the  solubility  of  gun-cotton  in  acetone. 
Dr.  Lowe  said  that  hardly  any  of  the  jalap  found  in  the  market  of  late  years 
contained  the  amount  of  resin  required  by  the  Pharmacopoeia,  although  he  be- 
lieved there  was  some  improvement  in  this  respect  during  the  last  two  or  three 
years. 
With  reference  to  the  use  of  acetone  as  a  solvent,  Professor  Trimble  said 
that  the  lacquer  which  is  used  for  brass  work  is  a  solution  of  gun-cotton  in 
amyl  acetate,  together  with  acetone,  petroleum  ether  or  wood  alcohol. 
Dr.  Miller  made  a  somewhat  novel  statement  in  reference  to  oil  of  bay.  His 
attention  had  recently  been  directed  to  two  grades  of  this  oil,  the  one,  the  better 
quality,  quoted  at  a  certain  price,  and  the  other  marked  U.  S.  P.,  and  having  a 
lower  price.  Upon  inquiry  as  to  the  cause  of  this  state  of  affairs,  it  was  found 
that  eugenol  had  been  added  to  the  natural  product  to  raise  the  specific  gravity, 
and  thus  make  the  oil  conform  with  pharmacopoeial  requirements. 
"An  Examination  of  Some  Commercial  Powdered  Extracts  of  Licorice" 
was  the  subject  of  a  paper  read  by  Calvin  O.  Kinzey. 
In  comparing  the  results  obtained  by  the  author,  the  American  extracts  were 
found  to  be  of  better  quality  than  either  the  Spanish  or  Greek  extracts. 
Mr.  Alfred  Mellor  said  that  tobacco  manufacturers  are  the  largest  consumers 
of  extract  of  licorice,  and  that  they  use  the  following  method  for  estimating 
the  glycyrrhizin  :  Ten  grammes  of  the  extract  are  dissolved  in  100  c.c.  of  water  ; 
200  c.c.  of  alcohol  are  added,  and  the  mixture  allowed  to  stand  twelve  hours  or 
over  night.  This  precipitates  insoluble  matter,  which  is  separated  by  filtration. 
The  glycyrrhizin  is  then  precipitated  by  adding  sulphuric  acid  to  the  filtrate 
There  being  no  further  business,  on  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned. 
T.  S.  WlEGAND, 
Registrar. 
NOTES  AND  NEWS. 
The  Seychelles  vanilla  crop  of  1896  was  the  largest  that  has  ever  been  grown 
in  the  colony,  amounting  to  63,000  pounds,  valued  at  about  Rs.  936,000.  The 
cultivation  of  vanilla  in  the  colony  dates  back  about  twenty  years,  and  is  only 
now  beginning  to  be  thoroughly  understood.  The  comparatively  large  output 
has  given  a  fresh  impetus  to  its  cultivation,  and  a  very  large  quantity  has  been 
planted.  The  Mexican  system  of  allowing  the  vines  to  grow  under  trees,  nearly 
wild,  is  at  present  in  vogue,  and  is  said  to  be  a  decided  improvement  on  the  old 
system  of  training  the  vines  on  artificial  supports.  The  production  of  vanilla  costs 
the  planter  Rs.  3  per  pound,  and  the  prices  vary  from  Rs.  8  to  Rs.  16  per  pound. 
The  average  yield  is  about  200  pounds  an  acre,  and  land  can  be  bought  at 
from  Rs.  ioo  to  Rs.  20a  the  acre.  Administrator  Stewart  regrets  that  Sey- 
chelles is  almost  a  terra  incognita,  because  he  believes  the  colony  offers  advan- 
tages not  to  be  met  with  elsewhere  for  the  investment  of  small  capital  of,  say, 
about  £r,ooD. — Pharmaceutical  Journal,  November  27,  1897. 
