^'"■jiuy'^'ms^""^"}  Editorial  381 
EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT. 
Medical  and  Pharmaceutical  Congresses  at  Barcelona.,  Spain. — During  the  lat- 
ter half  of  the  present  year  a  universal  exposition  will  be  held  in  Barcelona, 
and  recently  arrangements  have  been  perfected  for  the  holding  of  two  con- 
gresses, one  medical  and  the  other  pharmaceutical,  during  the  month  of 
September.  Membership  may  be  secured  by  the  payment  of  an  inscription 
fee  of  ten  francs.  All  members  may  participate- in  the  proceedings  and  the 
discussions ;  but  persons  not  possessing  an  academic  title  giving  authority 
to  practice  a  profession,  are  required  to  present  written  communications  to 
a  scientific  subcommittee  for  preliminary  consideration.  The  official  lan- 
guage will  be  Spanish ;  but  written  and  verbal  communications  may  be 
presented  in  any  other  Romance  language,  accompanied  with  a  condensed 
abstract  giving  the  conclusions.  A  joint  public  session  of  both  congresses 
will  be  held  September  9th,  at  noon,  after  which  each  congress  will  organize 
separately  and  transact  the  business  coming  before  it  in  four  sections.  The 
final  adjournment  will  take  place  September  15th,  v/hen  the  minutes  and 
essays  will  be  handed  to  the  Committee  on  Organization  for  publication. 
The  four  sections  of  the  pharmaceutical  congress  and  the  subjects  assigned 
to  each  section  for  deliberation,  are  as  follows  . 
Section  on  general  questions. — 1.  Theories  of  chemistry  best  adapted  for 
the  study  of  pharmacy. 
2.  Processes  of  disinfection  in  various  epidemics  ;  the  disinfectants  merit- 
ing preference,  and  their  chemical  action. 
3.  The  importance  of  artifical  mineral  waters,  and  the  conditions  for  ar- 
riving at  reliable  conclusions  on  this  subject. 
4.  The  study  of  natural  medical  substances. 
5.  The  influence  of  Spanish  authors  on  the  progress  of  pharmacology. 
6.  The  theories  of  fermentation. 
Section  on  Pharmacology — 1.  Pharmaco-zoological  and  pharmaco-phyto  • 
logical  study  of  gum  lac. 
2.  The  conditions  under  which  ranunculaceous  drugs  should  be  employed 
for  preparations  with  the  view  of  securing  the  greatest  activity. 
3.  The  pharmacological  importance  of  the  localization  of  the  active  prin- 
ciples of  plants. 
4.  The  preparation  of  volatile  oils  from  Labiatae  in  Spain. 
Section  on  Practical  Pharmacy. — 1.  Bismuth  subnitrate  of  the  Spanish  phar- 
macopoeia, its  uniformity  of  composition  and  permanence. 
2.  Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  lanolin  and  petrolatum  in  ointments. 
3.  The  extracts  and  the  methods  of  their  preparation. 
4.  Pharmaceutical  legislation  in  regard  to  the  progress  of  pharmacy. 
Section  on  Chemistry. — 1.  The  means  of  combining  astringents  with  iron 
preparations  without  altering  their  properties  or  lessening  their  effects. 
2.  The  chemistry  and  pharmacy  of  compounds  of  antimony. 
3.  The  best  reagents  for  the  analysis  of  urine. 
4.  Importance  of  spectral  analysis. 
