Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1888. 
}    British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  539 
closed  the  existence  of  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  result  of  treatment 
of  the  extract  for  the  removal  of  bitterness. 
Compound  Syrup  of  Hypophosphites. — The  next  paper,  by  Messrs.  Dott  and 
Inglis  Clark,  gave  the  results  of  the  examination  of  four  samples,  three  obtain- 
ed from  commercial  sources  and  one  prepared  by  themselves.  Sensible  defi- 
ciencies in  some  or  all  of  the  constituents  were  ascertained,  justifying  the  sus- 
picion that  this  preparation  does  not  always  contain  all  that  is  represented 
upon  the  label. 
Oil  of  Mentha  arvensis.— The  object  of  the  next  paper,  by  Mr.  J.  Moss,  was  to 
place  on  record  certain  characters  of  oil  of  Mentha  arvensis  distilled  from  plants 
grown  in  England  by  himself.  The  oil  was  found  to  have  a  decidedly  yellow 
color  ;  the  specific  gravity  at  62°  F.  was  0-9107  ;  it  commenced  to  boil  at  339°  F  , 
the  temperature  rising  402°F.  The  specific  gravity  of  the  redistilled  oil  was 
0-9117. 
Cephaelis  Tomentosa. — Mr.  Eansom  then  read  a  note  on  the  examination  of 
the  root  and  stem  of  Cephaelis  tomentosa,  said  to  be  used  in  Trinidad  for  the  same 
purposes  as  the  root  of  C.  Ipecacuanha,  though  the  root  is  totally  unlike  that 
drug  both  in  external  appearance  and  internal  structure.  The  presence  was 
ascertained  of  traces  of  an  alkaloid  which  gave  a  reaction  with  mercuric  chlo- 
ride, resembling  that  of  emetine.  But  as  the  physiological  action  of  sixty 
grains  of  the  root  was  inappreciable,  the  amount  of  alkaloid  present  must  be 
very  small. 
Citrate  of  Iron  and  Quinine. — A  paper  by  Mr.  R.  H.  Davies,  gave  the  result  of 
twenty-one  experiments  undertaken  to  ascertain  the  amount  and  precise  nature 
of  the  alkaloid  present  in  commercial  samples  of  this  preparation.  The  total 
alkaloid  varied  from  11 '42  to  19  per  cent.  Upon  the  basis  of  the  precipitated 
tartrates  obtained  it  was  inferred  that  some  of  these  samples  contained  consid- 
erable quantities  of  amorphous  alkaloid,  and  these  were  cases  in  which  the 
preparation  had  been  obtained  from  foreign  sources.  In  refererce  to  the  Phar- 
macopoeia formula,  Mr.  Davies  suggests  that  the  most  important  conclusion  to 
be  drawn  from  his  work  is  that  a  preparation  containing  16  per  cent,  of  alka- 
loid cannot  be  obtained  as  directed.  That  point,  however,  had  already  been 
settled  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  it  would  appear  that  Mr.  Davies  is  unaware  of  the 
fact  that  the  requirement  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  has  been  reduced  to  15 
per  cent.  The  Conference  then  adjourned  to  luncheon,  which  was  again  served 
m  the  Banqueting  Room  at  the  Guildhall. 
Size  of  Pills.— In  the  next  paper,  Mr.  N.  Asten  brought  under  the  notice  of  the 
Conference  the  question  recently  broached  in  these  columns  as  to  the  size  of 
pills  containing  very  small  quantities  of  active  medicines,  and  suggested  the 
desirability  of  adopting  a  uniform  standard  for  the  sake  of  obviating  inconven- 
iences that  now  result  from  such,  pills  being  made  of  different  sizes  by  different 
dispensers.  In  the  discussion  that  followed,  reference  was  chiefly  made  to  the 
weight  of  the  pill,  although  it  is  evident  that  the  uniformity  to  be  secured  for 
the  satisfaction  of  patients  would  apply  rather  to  the  size  than  to  the  weight. 
Although  no  definite  decision  was  arrived  at,  the  preponderance  of  opinion  ap- 
peared to  be  in  favor  of  a  minimum  size,  when  possible,  of  one  grain. 
Carthagena  Bark. — The  next  paper  was  by  Mr.  Hooper,  and  consisted  of  a 
summary  of  the  history  of  Carthagena  bark  and  of  the  experiments  connected 
with  the  introduction  of  Carthagena  bark  trees  into  the  Nilghiri  Cinchona 
