^"^"octiyim^'^'^'}    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  529 
tally,  over  the  ground,  concludes  that  aconiiine,  emetine,  strychnine,  and  to  a  cer- 
tain decree  also  hydrastme,  may  be  estimated  with  a  fair  degree  of  precision  and 
ease  by  Mayer's  reagent,  and  that  no  advantage  would  probably  be  gained  by 
changing  to  phosphomolybdic  acid;  on  the  other  hand,  atropine,  cocaine,  gelse- 
mine,  physostigmine,  pilocarpine, and  to  a  lesser  extent  coniine,  seem  to  offer  greater 
encouragement,  though  in  varying  degrees,  according  to  the  means  at  hand  for 
estimating  them,  or  the  immediate  object  of  the  estimation. 
Comparative  Pepsin  testing  was  discussed  by  Mr.  F.  A.  Thompson,  comparing 
the  requirements  of  the  U.  S.,  British  and  German  Pharmacopoeias.  A  mod- 
ification of  the  U.  S.  process  is  suggested,  reducing  HCl  from  0*47  to  0'30  per 
cent,  by  weight,  using  the  albumen  after  passing  through  a  No.  30  brass  sieve, 
digesting  for  6  hours  at  104°  F  ,  and  during  that  time  stirring  constantly  and 
uniformly.  Instead  of  employing  an  excess  of  albumen  and  weighing  that  not 
dissolved  during  the  process,  it  is  proposed  that  the  requirements  should  be 
that,  under  the  conditions  named,  a  definite  amount  of  albumen  used  in  the 
experiment  should  be  completely  dissolved.  Considerable  discussion  followed 
the  reading  of  this  paper  in  regard  to  the  strength  of  acid  used,  the  temper- 
ature of  digestion,  the  presence  of  peptone,  the  processes  of  manufacture  and 
the  use  of  antiseptics  in  the  process. 
Morphiometric  Assay  of  Opium  was  discussed  in  a  paper  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Geisler. 
The  principal  modifications  suggested  for  the  U.  S.  P.  process  are  the  reduction  of 
lime  from  3  to  1-5  gm.,  of  chloride  of  ammonium  from  8  to  0*8  gm.,  and  of  alco- 
hol from  5  to  3  cc  These  modifications  increase  the  amount  of  pure  morphine 
obtained,  by  lessening  the  loss  from  its  solubility  in  the  mother  liquors. 
Sponges  was  the  title  of  a  paper  by  Dr.  Rosa  Upson,  in  which  their  growth, 
collection,  preparation  for  the  market,  and  uses  were  briefly  described. 
A  Still  for  Volatile  Oils  was  described  by  Mr.  A.  M.  Todd,  who  exhibited  also 
a  model  for  such  an  apparatus.  Stills  and  condensers,  and  the  conditions  for 
distilling  and  condensing  properly,  were  discussed,  and  in  reply  to  a  question, 
Prof.  Prescolt  stated  that  in  many  of  the  charcoal  furnaces  in  Michigan  pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  condensati' >n  of  vapors,  which  in  other  localities 
were  allowed  to  escape, and  that  large  quannties  of  u-ood  alcohol  were  thus  ob- 
tained. 
Assays  of  powdered  ipecacuanha,  by  John  E.  Pennington,  had  been  made 
according  to  the  process  described  by  Dr.  A.  B.  Lyons  (see  Amee.  Jour.  Phae., 
1885,  p.  538) ;  the  15  samples  examined  yielded  results  indicating  between  1*04 
and  1"46  per  cent,  of  emetine. 
Mercurous  iodide  has  been  prepared  in  the  pure  state  by  E.  Soetje,  who  states 
in  his  paper  that  careful  attention  to  the  details  is  necessary  to  obtain  it  by 
double  decomposition.  Prof.  A.  B.  Stevens  stated  that  with  solutions  of  certain 
strength  the  iodide  will  be  green,  while  under  altered  circumstances  it  will  be 
yellow. 
Arsenic  in  medicinal  bismuth  salts  was  determined  by  R  E.  Hawkes  by  weigh- 
ing the  mirror  of  the  metal  obtained  under  Marsh's  plan,  as  used  by  Gautier, 
and  improved  by  Chittenden.  Of  seven  samples  of  bismuth  subcarbonate  one 
was  free  from  arsenic,  one  yielded  a  mere  trace,  and  the  others  '0026,  -0080, 
•0106,  •0133  and  *0660  per  cent.  One  sample  of  bismuth  subniirate  was  free,  and 
another  contained  a  trace  of  arsenic ;  five  other  samples  yielded  "0026,  "0053, 
•0133  and  ^0133  per  cent.  . 
