264  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  {Am-££if£frm* 
yellowish  tinge  which  exists  in  the  sugar  refined  from  certain  inferior  grades 
of  stock;  the  persistence  with  which  this  color  adheres  to  the  sugar  is  such 
that  it  can  only  be  hidden  by  the  supplementary  bluing  of  the  mass.  But  the 
sugar  branded  crown  A  or  crystal  A  is  perfectly  pure  and  will  be  all  that  is 
needed  ;  it  is  worth  about  one-eighth  of  a  cent  more  than  the  next  best  grade. 
These  two  brands  of  sugar  are  refined  from  the  best  raw  stock  wThich  will  show 
94  or  96  per  cent,  of  pure  sugar  before  refining.  It  was  asked  if  these  sugars 
were  not  soft  sugars,  and  it  was  stated  that  such  was  understood  to  be  the  case. 
A  paper  entitled  Laboratory  Notes  by  Mr.  A.  H.  Cohn,  of  the  graduating  class 
of  this  year,  was  read  by  him,  and  referred  to  the  committee  on  publication. 
Prof.  Maisch  stated  that  this  paper  only  enforced  what  he  had  so  fre- 
quently urged  upon  young  men,  that  is,  to  prepare  everything  possible  in  their 
own  stores  themselves,  thus  enabling  them  to  assure  their  patrons  and  the 
physicians  who  entrust  their  prescriptions  to  them,  of  the  quality  of  the  arti- 
cles dispensed,  and  this  he  thought  ought  to  apply  to  many  chemical  as  well 
as  most  galenical  preparations.  Mr.  Procter  stated  that  his  own  experience 
was  that  it  was  economical  as  well  as  proper ;  for  he  found  that  in  the  matter  of 
fluid  extracts  he  could  make,  and  afford  to  sell,  strictly  first-class  articles  at  the 
same  prices  as  manufacturers  of  first-class  charged  for  their  goods. 
A  prescription  was  submitted  with  the  question:  what  was  the  result  and 
what  should  be  the  appearance  of  it  when  finished.    It  is  as  follows  : 
R    Potassii  Carbon   ^i 
Ext.  Buchu  fluid   ^ij 
M.  Sig. — A  teaspoonful  in  water. 
A  number  of  those  present  thought  it  all  right  and  that  it  would  be  quite  clear 
and  sightly,  but  experience  showed  that  the  alkali  in  a  few  moments  caused  a 
soapy  deposit  which  adhered  to  the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  bottle.  Prof. 
Maisch  said  that  it  would  be  well  if  some  one  would  experiment  and  ascertain 
the  character  of  the  precipitate.   Mr.  Procter  offered  to  do  this. 
Prof.  Maisch  called  the  attention  of  the  meeting  to  Lanolin,  the  fat  pre- 
pared from  suint,  the  soap  obtained  by  washing  sheep's-wool ;  the  specimen 
was  made  by  Messrs.  T.  Metcalf  &  Co,  of  Boston,  and  labelled  Agnine,  as  a  reg- 
istered trade  mark.  The  very  rank  odor  which  adheres  to  it  very  persistently  is 
unfortunate,  but  the  speedy  absorption  of  the  fat  when  rubbed  upon  the 
skin, and  the  entire  disappearance  of  the  odor  as  soon  as  the  grease  is  absorbed, 
are  quite  noteworthy.  A  number  of  experiments  have  been  made  to  remove 
the  odor  and  dark  color.  One  specimen  had  been  digested  with  charcoal  for 
two  months ;  another  had  been  treated  with  peroxide  of  hydrogen  which  had 
removed  its  odor  very  greatly,  but  it  seems  de  -irable  to  free  it  entirely  from 
both  odor  and  color. 
Two  months  ago  Prof.  Maisch  spoke  cf  the  Baiz  del  Indio  and  expressed 
the  opinion  that  it  w7as  the  same  root  as  had  been  examined  by  Mr.  Voelcker 
in  1875.  Under  the  name  of  Canaigre  root  he  had  received  several  specimens 
which  were  identical  with  Mr.  Voelcker's  root  and  with  the  root  of  Eumex 
hymenosepalum,  received  from  Mr.  Wm.  Saunders,  superintendent  of  gardens 
in  Washington.  Recently,  Mr.  Clifford  Richardson,  assistant  chemist  in  the 
Agricultural  Department  at  Washington,  had  furnished  a  copy  of  the  analysis 
published  in  the  annual  report  of  that  department  for  1878,  p.  119 ;  this  analysis, 
