282 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
A.D3.  Jour.  Pharm, 
June.  1906. 
210  are  designated  as  being  essential  and  must  therefore  be  found  in 
all  of  the  apothecary  shops. 
The  tests  that  are  included  are  numerous  and  varied;  they  include 
among  others  the  determination  of  the  melting  point,  boiling  point 
and  congealing  point  of  many  substances,  the  iodine  and  the  saponi- 
fication numbers  of  fatty  oils,  extensive  tests  for  ethereal  oils,  and 
the  microscopic  examination  of  powdered  drugs. 
In  the  matter  of  making  preparations  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
aromatic  waters  are  to  be  made  by  distillation.  Aqueous  extracts 
are  to  be  prepared  by  maceration  or  infusion  and  alcoholic  extracts 
by  percolation.    (Phar.  Zeitg.,  1906.) 
The  French  Military  Pharmacists. — The  French  Army  now  has  115 
military  pharmacists,  consisting  of  1  inspector,  4  principals  of  the 
first  class,  5  principals  of  the  second  class,  30  majors  of  the  first 
class,  45  majors  of  the  second  class,  20  aide  majors  of  the  first  class, 
10  aide  majors  of  the  second  class.  These  rank  respectively  as 
second  lieutenant,  first  lieutenant,  captain,  major,  lieutenant-colonel, 
colonel,  and  major-general. 
Up  to  and  including  pharmacist-major  of  the  first  class,  advance- 
ment is  primarily  by  length  of  service  plus  merit,  while*  for  the 
higher  grade  selection  by  merit  is  given  the  preference.  (Apothek. 
Zeitg.,  1906,  217.) 
Aromatic  Waters. — In  a  recent  number  of  the  Pharmaceutical 
Journal  (1906,  page  344),  W.  S.  Glass  repeats  a  suggestion  he  had 
previously  made  to  make  the  official  aromatic  waters  by  dissolving 
the  respective  oils  by  agitation  with  hot  distilled  water,  in  the  pro- 
portion of  2  c.c.  to  iooo  c.c.  of  distilled  water,  and  filtering,  when 
cold,  through  a  double  well-wetted  filtering  paper. 
For  rose  and  neroli  half  the  quantity  of  the  oil  is  said  to  secure  a 
saturated  solution. 
Detection  of  Small  Traces  of  Copper  in  Distilled  Water. — Add  1  or 
2  drops  of  ammonia  to  500  c.c.  of  the  suspected  water  and  filter  it 
three  or  four  times  through  a  plug  of  cotton  wool.  A  faint  green 
color  of  the  cotton  wool  indicates  the  presence  of  copper  in  quanti- 
ties too  small  to  be  detected  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen  or  potassium 
ferrocyanide.    {Phar.  Jour.,  1906,  p.  387,  from  Apoth.  Zeitg.) 
Non-combustible  Celluloid. — According  to  a  recently  issued  English 
patent  the  addition  of  boric  acid  to  celluloid,  in  process  of  manufac- 
ture, will  materially  reduce  the  danger  from  fire.    The  description 
