522         Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  { Am,Jc°,Jr^rnu 
used  rather  than  a  constant  characteristic  of  this  drug.  Amongst  other  preventives 
of  gelatinization  the  effect  of  the  addition  of  glycerin,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Ellinor,. 
was  in  the  main  spoken  of  favorably,  but  it  was  also  remarked  that  the  glycerin 
might  to  some  extent  counteract  the  astringent  action  of  the  kino.  The  judicious 
selection  of  the  proper  kind  of  kino  for  the  preparation  of  tincture  of  kino  will 
probably  be  the  most  effective  remedy  for  this  kind  of  difficulty  and  its  attainment 
may  therefore  be  intrusted  to  the  relative  intelligence  of  wholesale  houses. 
The  use  of  "Anhydrous  Air  as  a  Therapeutic  Agent"  was  described  in  a  paper  by 
Mr.  Keyworth,  who  had  found  that  its  application  as  an  absorbent  of  moisture  gave 
relief  from  the  pain  and  inconvenience  caused  by  tension  in  various  morbid  condi- 
tions, such  as  cancerous  growths,  ulcers,  etc.  A  jet  of  dried  air  applied  for  an 
hour  in  the  evening  was  said  to  have  been  found  to  cause  cessation  of  pain  for 
several  hours  and  secure  a  night's  rest. 
Mr.  H.  Collier  read  a  paper  on  the  use  of  "Tincture  of  Quillaia  bark  as  an  emulsify- 
ing agent,"  in  which  he  described  the  efficacy  of  this  preparation  in  producing  emul- 
sions with  materials  of  a  resinous  or  oily  nature,  and  suggested  that  on  this  account 
it  was  deserving  of  consideration  as  a  pharmaceutical  agent.  Some  strong  doubts 
were  expressed  in  the  discussion  of  this  paper  that  the  peculiar  activity  of  quillaia 
bark  would  render  it  inappropriate  for  use  as  the  means  of  effecting  emulsification, 
but  the  remarkable  efficacy  of  the  tincture  in  causing  the  rapid  subdivision  of  mer- 
cury was  considered  to  promise  well  for  its  application  in  the  preparation  of  sheep 
ointment. 
Another  paper  by  Mr.  Collier  dealt  with  the  chemical  condition  in  which  saponin 
exists  in  the  quillaia  bark. 
Next  in  order  was  a  note  on  Aricin,  by  John  Eliot  Howard.  Referring  to  the 
recent  paper  on  this  subject  by  Dr.  Hesse,  and  to  the  specimen  of  aricin  presented 
by  that  chemist  to  the  museum  of  the  Society,  the  author  stated  that  he  had  com- 
pared this  sample  with  the  one  deposited  in  the  museum  by  himself  in  1852  and  was 
satisfied  as  to  their  identity.  He  also  found  the  bark  from  which  Dr.  Hesse  obtained 
his  alkaloid  to  be  exactly  like  his  own,  namely,  the  jaune  de  Cuzco  of  Delondre  and 
Bouchardat,  which  was  imported  as  Calisaya  in  1829.  This,  Mr  Howard  believes,, 
is  the  only  bark  from  which  aricin  has  been  obtained,  and  he  points  out  that  the 
suggestion  of  the  existence  of  aricin  among  the  alkaloids  of  Cinchona  succirubra 
is  merely  matter  of  conjecture.  Mr.  Howard  disavows  any  claim  to  the  discovery 
of  aricin,  though  he  has  satisfied  himself  of  the  substantial  accuracy  of  Pelletier's 
observations,  and  has,  therefore,  maintained  the  existence  of  the  alkaloid  described 
by  him  as  aricin,  although  it  has  generally  been  denied.  It  is  suggested  that  the 
further  examination  of  bark  yielding  aricin  promises  to  be  of  interest  as  regards  the 
classification  of  different  species  of  the  genus  Cinchona,  and  that  in  connection  with 
this  inquiry  it  will  also  be  desirable  to  study  the  physiological  action  of  aricin,  as 
well  as  that  of  paricin,  which  appears  to  occur  among  the  alkaloids  of  Cinchona 
succirubra . 
A  paper  on  the  "  Chemistry  of  Chaulmoogra  Oil,"  by  Mr.  Moss,  showed  that 
the  existence  of  any  alkaloidal  substance  in  this  oil  was  doubtful,  at  least  so  far  as  to 
accouut  for  any  medicinal  efficacy.  Chemically,  the  specific  characteristic  of  chaul- 
moogra oil  consists,  according  to  the  author's  results,  in  its  containing  a  peculiar 
