150 
and  for  similar  purposes.  Prof.  Maisch  stated  that  toxicodendric  acid  also  re- 
duced mercuric  chloride,  and  Mr.  Pettigrew  had  some  years  ago  corroborated 
his  observation  that  in  its  chemical  characters  it  resembled  formic  acid. 
These  papers  were  referred  to  the  publication  committee.  Mr.  Procter  said 
that  he  had  been  experimenting  with  agar-agar  or  Japan  isinglass ;  he  found  that 
one  part  in  200  of  water  was  sufficient  to  give  a  good  jelly,  and  that  this  should 
oe  made  with  as  little  disintegration  as  possible ;  it  will  emulsionize  oils,  but  is 
inferior  to  gum  for  this  purpose,  and  is  more  allied  to  that  from  Irish  moss  or 
sassafras  pith. 
Prof.  Maisch  asked  whether  dextrin  or  other  gum  substitutes  of  commerce 
had  been  experimented  with  for  pharmaceutical  uses  since  gum  arable  had 
advanced  in  price  so  much.  It  was  stated  that  some  of  the  druggists  had  a 
variety  of  substitutes,  but  no  one  could  say  whether  they  were  being  much  used,, 
or  how  they  were  manufactured. 
There  being  no  further  business,  on  motion  adjourned. 
T.  S.  WiEGAND,  Registrar 
EDITORIAL  DEPAETMENT. 
Medicine  and  Pharmacy  at  the  International  Exhibition  at  Brussels. — During  the 
coming  summer  a  grand  international  industrial  exhibition  will  be  held  at  the 
city  of  Brussels,  for  which  occasion  separate  divisions  have  been  organized  for 
medical  science  and  for  pharmacy,  the  subjects  relating  to  both  of  which  were, 
in  former  international  exhibitions,  placed  in  other  industrial  groups.  The  in- 
tention is  to  have,  at  this  exhibition,  all  products  grouped  according  to  their 
final  destination,  so  that  each  branch  of  industry  may  be  comprehensively 
studied  by  the  comparison  of  the  analogous  products  in  use  among  the  different 
nations. 
The  eleventh  class  has  been  assigned  to  medical  science,  and  has  been  divided 
into  five  subdivisions,  comprising  medicine,  surgery,  hygiene,  public  assistance^ 
and  in  one  subdivision,  b  dneology,  electrotherapy,  hydrotherapy,  gymnas- 
tics, massage  and  allied  branches.  Each  subdivision  is  again  divided  into  a 
suitable  number  of  sections  and  groups,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  proper  classifi- 
cation of  the  exhibited  articles.  The  president  of  the  eleventh  subdivision  is 
Professor  Stas  of  Brussels ;  the  secretaries  are  Mr.  Lentz,  director-general  in 
the  Department  of  Justice,  and  Dr.  Moeller  of  Brussels.  A  bureau  has  also 
been  organized  for  each  subdivision. 
The  thirty -fifth  class  has  been  assigned  to  the  instruments,  processes  and 
products  of  pharmacy.  Its  president  is  Mr.  Louis  Creteur,  president  of  the 
Eoyal  Society  of  Pharmacy  at  Brussels;  vice-presidents,  Mr.  Achille  Jonas, 
vice-president  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Pharmacy  at  Brussels,  and  in  1876  dele- 
gate to  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Ch.  Bultot,  pharmacist 
at  Liege,  and  Professor  J.  B.  Depaire,  of  the  University  of  Brussels;  secretaries, 
the  pharmacists  Victor  Reding  and  Alexander  Buzon  of  Brussels.  The  three 
subdivisions  comprise  laboratory  apparatus,  pharmaceutical  apparatus  and  pro- 
ducts, and  are  subdivided  into  eight  groups,  as  follows :  1.  Utensils,  instru- 
ments, publications,  engravings,  etc.,  of  former  times ;  2.  modern  utensils  and 
