Am.  Jour.  PUhi  uj.  I 
February,  1983.  J 
Notes  and  News. 
127 
to  the  meeting.  He  gave  a  most  interesting  account  of  his  trip  to  the  "  Land 
of  Ginger" — the  Isle  of  Jamaica.  The  lecture  was  illustrated  by  photographic 
views  thrown  upon  the  screen  by  the  electric  lantern,  which  enabled  the 
speaker  to  give  an  admirable  and  vivid  description  of  the  life,  homes  and  land 
of  the  growers  of  ginger,  see  page  65  of  this  number. 
A  vote  of  thanks  was  unanimously  given  to  Mr.  Kilmer  for  his  lecture. 
T.  S.  Wiegand, 
-Registrar. 
NOTES  AND  NEWS. 
A  New  Monthly  Journal  on  Food  Products  and  Allied  Subjects  has  made  its 
appearance.  The  valuable  periodicals  known  as  Forschungs  Berichte  and  the 
Jahresbericht  iiber  Fortschritte  der  Nahrungs  und  Genussmittel,  which  were 
edited  by  Dr.  A.  Hilger  and  other  collaborators,  have  been  combined  under  the 
title  Zeitschrift  fur  Uritersuchung  der  Nahrungs-und  Genussmittel.  The  edi- 
tors of  the  new  journal  are  the  well-known  chemists  Drs.  K.  v.  Buchka, 
A.  Hilger  and  J.  Konig.  Several  original  articles  and  a  number  of  extracts 
appear  in  the  first  number,  the  whole  comprising  eighty  pages  of  reading 
matter. 
Reported  Discovery  of  Strontium. — The  discovery  of  a  Large  bed  of  strontium 
at  Put-in-Bay  Island,  reported  from  Toledo,  has  awakened  a  considerable 
amount  of  interest  among  the  manufacturers  of  fireworks,  as  it  is  thought 
likely  that  it  will  result  in  a  considerable  reduction  in  the  price  of  a  fireworks 
in  which  strontium  nitrate  or  strontium  carbonate  is  used.  One  large  manu- 
facturer of  fireworks  in  New  York,  who  makes  use  of  about  150  tons  of  stron  - 
tium nitrate  in  a  year,  and  imports  the  whole  of  it  from  Europe,  states  that  it 
costs  his  firm  now  about  *]%  cents  a  pound.  If  the  strontium  should  be  found  in 
large  quantities,  it  would  have  the  effect  of  lowering  the  cost  of  certain  classes 
of  fireworks,  that  is,  all  those  that  use  a  red  or  crimson  light.  At  present  the 
supply  comes  chiefly  from  Germany,  and  the  American  manufacturer  has  to 
pay  a  high  price  for  it  — Scientific  American . 
A  call  has  been  issued  for  a  Pure  Food  and  Drug  Congress,  to  meet  in 
Washington,  March  2d,  and  to  continue  in  session  as  long  as  the  business  before 
the  convention  may  warrant.  The  movement  originated  with  members  of  the 
grange,  and  has  gradually  spread  to  other  organizations  interested  in  pure 
foods. 
The  governors  of  each  State  are  empowered  to  appoint  10  delegates  each, 
divided  as  follows  :  Agriculturists,  4  ;  pharmacists,  2  ;  wholesale  grocers,  1  ; 
retail  grocers,  1  ;  food  manufacturers,  1  ;  proprietary  manufacturers,  1. 
The  governor  will  also  appoint  two  delegates  for  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, and  two  to  represent  the  Dairy  and  Food  Division  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture. 
All  State  boards  of  health,  boards  of  trade,  granges,  alliances,  horticultural 
and  agricultural  societies,  and  sundry  other  organizations,  are  invited  to  appoint 
from  1  to  5  delegates. 
Tampico  Jalap. — Ordinary  jalap,  the  "  Purgo  macho"  of  the  Mexicans,  is 
widely  known  as  a  medicinal  substance,  and   the  plant   (Iporucea  purga. 
