630 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting, 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I   December,  1S98. 
but  under  chloroform  the  only  mention  of  acetone  as  a  present  commercial 
source  of  chloroform  production  is  given  in  one  line  of  a  foot-note.  On  a 
later  page  (p.  235)  the  preparation  of  chloroform  from  wood  spirit  is  spoken  of 
with  no  intimation  that  it  is  the  acetone  in  this  and  not  the  methyl  alcohol  that 
is  responsible  for  any  chloroform  produced.  Similarly,  under  iodoform,  no 
mention  is  made  of  its  later  modes  of  production,  such  as  from  acetone,  and 
direct  from  iodides  with  the  aid  of  electrolysis. 
The  section  on  cellulose  is  in  general  satisfactory,  as  its  recognition  in  woody 
tissue  is  well  discussed,  and  its  derivatives  of  the  nitrate  class  are  described,, 
but  we  notice  that  no  mention  is  made  of  Cross  and  Bevan's  important  work  on 
the  production  of  soluble  forms  of  cellulose,  such  as  viscose  and  similar 
substances. 
Mention  is  made  of  the  nature  of  celluloid  and  gun  cotton,  and  the  method 
of  their  analysis,  but  no  account  of  the  newer  smokeless  powders,  or  their 
composition  and  analysis  is  given.  This  would  have  added  to  the  complete- 
ness of  this  section. 
However,  the  work  as  a  whole  is  so  valuable  and  comprehensive  that  small 
deficiencies  should  not  weigh  too  greatly.  It  is  emphatically  a  useful  book, 
and  will  undoubtedly  maintain  its  foremost  rank  as  a  reference  book  for  many 
years  to  come.  S.  P.  S. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  November  15,  1898. 
'The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  3  p.m.,  promptly,  Mr.  James  T.  Shinn 
acting  as  chairman, 
The  first  paper  read  by  Mr.  W.  L.  Cliffe,  Ph.G.,  upon  "  Product  Patents  from 
a  Pharmaceutical  Standpoint"  (see  page  596).  Mr.  Cliffe  spoke  of  four  classes 
of  patents,  obtainable  in  this  country,  i.e.,  a  patent  for  an  art,  machine,  manu- 
facture or  composition  of  matter.  Of  these,  the  latter  is  the  one  considered 
by  him  at  length,  although  he  spoke  of  process  patents  also.  Mr.  Cliffe  men- 
tioned the  acuteness  displayed  by  German  manufacturers  who  obtain  product 
patents  whenever  possible  ;  thus  enabling  them  to  reap  tremendous  profits 
from  the  sale  of  their  products.  Mentioning  phenacetine  as  an  example,  the 
speaker  stated  that  the  cost  of  manufacture  is  about  10  cents  per  ounce,  the 
selling  price  to  the  trade  here  being  $1  per  ounce.  As  the  quantity  sold  in  this 
country  probably  averaged  300,000  ounces  per  year  during  the  life  of  the 
patent,  the  profits  realized  were  enormous.  Antipyrine  was  also  mentioned  as 
a  notable  example  of  the  same  injustice  to  American  pharmacists. 
In  the  discussion  which  followe'd  Mr.  Jos.  W.  England  read  an  abstract  from 
an  editorial  in  the  Bulletin  of  Pharmacy  for  October,  which  corroborated  Mr. 
Cliffe's  paper  in  many  respects.  Mr.  Procter  asked  about  the  manner  of  impor- 
tation ,  and  was  answered  by  Mr.  Cliffe  to  the  effect  that  it  was  not  imported  under 
the  name,  Phenacetine,  and  he  did  not  know  under  what  head  it  came  in  ;  an 
ad  valorem  duty  on  its  cost  of  manufacture  is  imposed,  which  does  not  amount 
to  much  when  compared  with  the  selling  price.  Upon  motion  the  author  was 
thanked  for  his  valuable  paper,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Publi- 
cations. 
Mr.  England  then  read  the  following  resolutions  which  he  wished  the  mem- 
bers to  consider  : 
