204         Fharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  {^"^'Ipriijm!'^' 
which  had  been  employed  largely  for  liniments,  for  making  of  varnishes,  and  as 
a  solvent ;  it  being  70  or  80  cents  a  gallon  cheaper  than  ethylic  alcohol,  it  was 
thought  worthy  of  notice.  Inquiry  was  made  whether  it  was  useful  in  making 
solid  and  fluid  extracts,  but  no  experiments  could  be  reported.  Professor  Maisch 
asked  whether  it  was  as  good  a  solvent  for  oils  as  ethylic  alcohol,  and  it  was 
stated  to  be  equally  well  adapted  to  that  use.  It  was  stated  that  the  British 
government,  after  granting  a  patent  for  the  method  of  purifying  it,  prohibited 
its  manufacture  in  the  pure  state,  as  it  could  be  used  for  making  intoxicating 
drinks,  and  defrauding  the  revenue. 
Mr.  England  exhibited  a  specimen  oi  pure  Chromic  Add,  and  stated  that  the 
pharmacopoeial  requirements  were  not  quite  correct ;  that  a  pure  acid  was  not 
deliquescent,  and  that  the  crystals  had  a  blackish  steel  lustre,  quite  apparent  in 
the  general  crimson  shade  of  color  peculiar  to  it.  Prof.  Maisch  thought  that 
its  deliquescence,  as  usually  seen,  was  owing  to  the  contaminating  sulphuric 
acid  remaining  from  the  method  of  preparation,  and  from  the  drying  of  the 
crystals  upon  absorbent  tiles.  Mr.  Bullock  said  it  could  be  largely  freed  from 
sulphuric  acid  by  drying  the  crystals,  after  draining  them,  upon  bricks,  previ- 
ously heated  till  unpleasant  to  handle  them.  In  this  way  a  very  dry,  and  but 
little  deliquescent  acid  could  be  had. 
Mr.  England  called  attention  to  the  subject  of  JBlaud's  Pills,  an  improved 
formula  for  which  he  presented  (see  page  173.) 
The  reading  of  the  paper  caused  considerable  remarks.  Mr.  Mclntyre  said  he 
tried  every  formula  for  these  pills  which  he  had  noticed,  and  that  one  pub- 
lished some  years  since  in  the  Journal  of  Pharmacy  was  very  satisfactory. 
Prof.  Maisch  said  that  when  ferrous  sulphate  and  potassium  carbonate  were 
well  rubbed  together,  a  soft  mass  containing  ferrous  carbonate  and  potassium 
sulphate  was  formed,  and  with  the  addition  of  a  little  tragacanth  and  simple 
syrup,  yielded  a  very  good  pill  mass,  as  he  had  shown  in  a  paper  published  in 
the  Journal  in  1871  (see  page  307.)  The  presence  of  sugar  would  be  a  guard 
against  oxidation. 
Mr.  England  exhibited  some  prescriptions,  which  excited  some  comment 
from  the  very  indistinct  manner  in  which  they  were  written.  After  some 
further  conversation,  the  meeting  adjourned. 
T.  S.  WIEGAND, 
Eegistrar. 
PHAEMACEUTICAL  COLLEGES  AND  ASSOCIATIONS. 
Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy— Dnring  the  past  session  of  1887-88  the 
customary  junior  examinations  were  held  November  12th  and  December  10th, 
closing  with  the  examination,  which  took  place  February  11th.  The  questions 
at  the-se  several  examinations  in  the  different  branches  were  as  follows : 
BOTANY  AND  MATERIA  MEDICA. 
1.  — ^Define  parenchyma  cells,  prosenchy ma  cells,  and  ducts;  name  some  of  the 
varieties  of  each,  and  explain  the  same  by  descriptions  and  drawings. 
2.  — What  is  a  root  f  How  does  the  root  groiu  in  length  ?  In  what  manner 
does  this  length-growth  differ  from  the  length-growth  of  the  stem  f 
