iTptimberim'}    British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  459 
Dr.  Lilienfeld  has  produced,  artificially,  peptone,  a  compound  which  has 
hitherto  been  supposed  could  .only  be  produced  by  organic  life.  It  is  produced 
by  means  of  the  condensation  of  phenol  and  amido-acetic  acid  with  the 
oxy chloride  of  phosphorous.  The  author  prepared  at  the  convention  the 
artificial  albumen  and  demonstrated,  so  far  as  chemical  tests  could  prove,  their 
identity. 
In  the  Pharmaceutical  Section,  Kremel,  of  Vienna,  delivered  an  address  upon 
the  subject,  "  That  drugs  of  a  powerfully  active  nature  should  not  only  in  dif" 
ferent  countries  be  prepared  from  the  same  formulae,  but  that  the  accurate 
quantity  of  the  active  principles  contained  in  the  same  should  be  determined 
in  all  countries  by  one  and  the  same  method."  After  a  discussion  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  which  was  carried,  was  presented  by  Kremel,  viz. :  "The  mem- 
bers of  Section  II  (Pharmacy)  of  the  International  Congress  for  Applied  Chem- 
istry, are  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  a  question  of  urgent  necessity  that  the  pow- 
erfully operating  preparations  of  all  pharmacopoeias  should  contain  a  uniform 
quantity  of  the  active  principles,  and  that  this  uniformity  should  be  attained 
by  the  employment  of  identical  methods  of  preparation."  As  a  general  rule, 
they  recommend  for  extracts,  tinctures  and  drugs  the  use  of  such  testing  for- 
mulae' as  are  based  upon  the  method  of  agitation  and  subsequent  titration  with 
-5-  of  acid,  as  employed  by  Schweissinger,  Sarkow,  Beckurts  and  Keller.  For 
100 
the  determination  of  morphine  the  method  of  Welfenberger  in  its  most  recent 
form  is  recommended. 
BRITISH  PHARMACEUTICAL  CONFERENCE. 
The  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference  met  for  the  second  time  in  its  history, 
in  Ireland,  on  August  9th,  10th  and  nth.  The  first  visit  being  in  Dublin,  in 
1878,  the  second  in  1898,  in  Belfast.  The  Presidential  address  was  given  by 
Charles  Symes,  and  represented  a  rather  comprehensive  survey  of  the  numer- 
ous problems  which  have  of  late  years  troubled  the  pharmacists  of  Great 
Britain  in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree.  We  are  indebted  to  the  Pharmaceutical 
Journal,  August  13,  1898,  for  the  account  of  this  address  and  the  principal 
scientific  papers  of  which  we  give  abstracts  in  this  issue.  Dr.  Symes  regards 
education  as  the  first  and  foremost  factor  in  the  general  advancement  of  the 
craft.  Regarding  examinations  he  stated  that  it  was  his  experience  that  the 
majority  of  men,"  when  just  fresh  from  their  examinations,  are  then  only  in  a 
position  to  learn  how  to  expand,  apply,  and  increase  their  knowledge  for  the 
efficient  performance  of  their  duties.  ■  This  does  not  apply  to  pharmacy  alone  ; 
indeed,  so  much  did  it  apply  to  the  medical  student  that  some  few  years  ago, 
the  curriculum  was  extended  to  include  one  year  of  practical  application  of  the 
knowledge  possessed  before  registration,  by  the  Medical  Council. 
The  reminder .  that  pharmacists  are  directly  interested  in  the  operation  of 
many  Acts  of  Parliament  that  do  not  concern  the  ordinary  individual  is  a 
timely  one,  for  every  member  of  the  craft  should  consider  it  incumbent  upon 
him  to  possess  an  acquaintance  with  certain  provisions  of  all  the  statutes 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Symes  and  of  one  or  two  others.  But,  unfortunately,  too 
few  have  even  taken  the  trouble  to  acquire  a  definite  knowledge  of  the  Phar- 
macy Acts,  and  it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  chemists  and  druggists  are 
