^"'juiy^S^'''^'}    Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  379 
modern,  by  Wm.  Harris.  The  paper  cannot  be  abstracted ;  quotations  from 
several  works,  particularly  from  the  London  Dispensatory  of  1718,  showed 
the  progress  made  in  pharmacy  up  to  the  present  time. 
Should  Druggists  Register  as  Physicians'?  Mr.  Harris  referred  to  the 
charter  of  the  Society  of  Apothecaries  in  England,  and  endeavored  to 
deduce  therefrom  the  right  of  pharmacists  to  practice  medicine.  Stating 
that  the  law  of  Pennsylvania  gives  to  apothecaries  having  practiced  medi- 
cine and  pharmacy  for  a  period  of  ten  years  prior  to  June  8th,  1881,  the 
right  to  register  as  physicians,  he  answered  the  above  query  in  the  affirma- 
tive. The  arguments  advanced  by  the  author,  and  more  particularly  the 
conclusion,  were  warmly  contested  by  Mr.  Duble  and  other  members.  In 
the  discussion  the  eleventh  section  of  the  pharmacy  law,  giving  graduates 
in  medicine  the  right  to  register  as  pharmacists  without  examination,  was 
deservedly  criticized ;  but  it  was  contended  that  a  similar  wrong  should  not 
be  committed  in  retaliation. 
The  Promotion  of  Fraternal  Feeling  Among  Pharmacists,  by  W.  H.  Eeed. 
The  good  influences  of  associations  and  attendance  at  their  meetings  are 
discussed  in  their  various  aspects. 
The  Preliminary  Training  of  Apprentices,  by  G.  W.  Kennedy.  Not  only  is 
the  necessity  of  a  good  school  education  emphasized,  but  other  require- 
ments are  pointed  out,  like  habits  of  preciseness,  politeness  in  conversation, 
cultivation  of  judgment,  etc. 
Impure  Cream  of  Tartar.  Frank  Thompson  had  found  the  cream  of 
tartar  offered  by  several  drughouses  to  be  pure,  while  samples  obtained 
from  grocers  contained  from  twenty-five  to  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  starchy 
matter,  which  was  left  behind  on  dissolving  the  bitartrate  in  potassa 
solution. 
Paris  Green.  G.  W.  Kennedy  examined  six  commercial  samples  and 
found  five  of  them  to  be  substantially  pure,  though  containing  uncombined 
arsenious  acid  which  could  be  extracted  by  ammonia.  One  sample  con- 
tained nearly  twenty  per  cent,  of  white  clay. 
Irish  Moss  as  a  Substitute  for  Gum  Arabic.  J.  F.  Patton  confirms  the 
utility  of  Irish  moss  in  the  preparation  of  emulsions. 
Pepsin.  Wm.  Harris  advocates  the  admission  into  the  next  pharmaco- 
poeia of  a  pepsin  digesting  at  least  nine  hundred  times  its  weight  of  coagu- 
lated albumen  in  five  or  six  hours  at  a  temperature  of  105°  F.  Its  prepara- 
tion is  neither  very  difficult  nor  costly,  and  any  apothecary  of  ordinary 
skill  can  prepare  and  have  it  fresh  and  reliable.  Samples  were  exhibited 
prepared  by  the  author. 
Abstractum  Jalapas  by  Wm.  L.  Turner.  Seven  samples  of  jalap,  on  being 
assayed,  yielded  from  6.35  to  10.36  per  cent,  of  resin  ;  from  the  latter  sample, 
by  careful  selection,  a  small  quantity  could  be  obtained  yielding  the  re- 
quired 12  per  cent.,  and  a  sample  procured  from  Dr.  Squibb  yielded  19  per 
cent,  of  resin.  In  view  of  this  great  variation,  it  is  proposed  to  prepare  the 
abstract  by  thoroughly  incorporating  one  part  of  resin  of  jalap  with  three 
parts  of  sugar  of  milk. 
Two  of  the  papers  read  at  the  meeting  are  published  in  this  number ; 
