^mS.  Sss'"''}    Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  149 
American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  The  Registrar  was  directed  to  return  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  givers  of  the  various  works. 
The  attention  of  the  meeting  was  called  to  the  large  collection  of  valuable 
and  rare  drugs  sent  to  the  College  by  Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes,  curator  of  the  Museum 
of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain.  The  question  was  asked 
whether  the  insects  marked  "Red  Flies"  were  cantharis;  Prof.  Maisch  said 
they  were  not,  that  their  scientific  name  was  Huechys  sanguinea ;  they  had 
been  examined  by  Mr.  John  Moss,  and  by  him  found  to  be  destitute  of  can- 
tharidin,  although  the  odor  of  the  beetles  would  induce  one  to  think  them 
similar  in  composition. 
Prof.  Maisch  called  attention  to  the  odor  of  the  leaves  of  the  Eucalyptus  citri- 
odora,  which  so  much  resembles  the  verbena  or  lemon  grass,  and  remarked  that 
the  oil  of  Eucalyptus  persicifolia  possessed  the  odor  of  peach  leaves,  and  con- 
tained hydrocyanic  acid ;  it  would  seem  that  there  was  some  connection  be- 
tween the  volatile  oils  and  the  morphological  character  of  the  leaves. 
The  bark  of  Cinchona  officinalis  in  shavings  was  commented  on  as  a  novelty, 
and  in  this  connection  also,  a  sample  of  mossed  calisaya  bark  was  exhibi- 
ted, which  had  been  brought  from  Indian  cinchona  plantations  and  presented 
to  Prof.  Maisch  by  Mr.  Wm.  R.  Warner.  One  specimen  was  marked  false 
buchu  leaves  {Empleurum  serrulatum);  it  is  sometimes  mixed  with  long  buchu, 
from  which  it  may  be  distinguished  by  examining  the  shape,  apex  and  distri- 
bution of  the  oil  cells.  Mr.  Procter  moved  that,  although  the  receipt  of  the 
specimens  had  been  acknowledged,  a  special  vote  of  thanks  should  be  sent  by 
the  Registrar. 
Mr.  Bell  presented  several  specimens  of  California  honey  and  of  olive  oil,  the 
purety  of  which  he  felt  well  assured  of. 
Mr.  Bell  read  a  paper  upon  California  Honey,  and  since  writing  it  he  stated 
that  he  had  received  a  letter  embodying  considerable  information  in  reply  to 
some  questions  he  had  asked  regarding  the  business  of  gathering  it,  and  care  of 
the  bees ;  he  also  read  a  paper  upon  the  culture  of  the  olive  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  the  oil,  an  industry  introduced  nearly  a  century  and  a  quarter  since 
by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  ;  the  paper  was  supplemented  with  information 
upon  the  subject  by  letters  recently  received  from  several  growers.  Prof. 
Maisch  said  that  it  seemed  from  the  paper  that  the  olives  and  seeds  were  all 
crushed  together,  while  he  had  understood  that  in  Italy  they  separated  the 
seeds  and  pressed  the  oil  from  the  pericarp  only  as  the  two  oils  were  dissimilar 
in  some  particulars. 
Mr.  F.  M.  Siggins,  of  the  present  senior  class,  read  a  paper  upon  Eupatorium 
purpureum  ;  the  reading  elicited  some  discussion.  Prof.  Maisch  stated  that  the 
rhizome  contained  a  peculiar  principle  resembling  quercitrin,  and  thought  it 
would  be  a  good  subject  for  investigation. 
Mr.  Schroeter  read  a  paper  upon  oil  of  horsemint,  which  was  listened  to  with 
a  great  deal  of  interest  as  the  reader  detailed  many  experiments  he  made  with 
it. 
Mr.  Moerk  read  a  paper  upon  commercial  acetic  acid  which  he  examined 
in  consequence  of  some  reactions  he  observed  when  he  was  testing  mercur- 
ammonium  chloride,  and  found  to  contain  formic  acid.  Mr.  Procter  referred  to  the 
acetic  acid  made  by  the  imperfect  carbonization  of  wood,  and  said  that  he  con- 
sidered it  superior  to  other  brands  for  the  preparation  of  ammonium  acetate 
