^Nov.'iim''™'}    Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  585 
The  actuary  reported  that  Mrs.  Mary  Wayne  had  presented  quite  a  num- 
ber of  valuable  books  which  formed  part  of  the  library  of  the  late  Prof.  E. 
S.  Wayne,  and  that  he  had  returned  the  thanks  of  the  College  for  her  kind 
consideration.  On  motion  of  the  curator  the  thanks  of  the  College  were 
also  voted  to  Messrs.  Hance  Brothers  &  White,  for  a  collection  of  powdered 
extracts  presented  to  the  museum  of  the  College. 
Mr.  Joseph  W.  England,  Ph.G.,  read  a  paper  upon  permanent  syrup  of 
iodide  of  iron.  Prof.  Maisch  stated  that  honey  was  originally  suggested  for  the 
preservation  of  iodide  of  iron,  and  that  the  solution  of  ferrous  iodide  as  pre- 
pared many  years  ago,  was  protected  by  honey.  Mr.  Webb  said  that  it  was 
so  when  he  commenced  learning  the  drug  business.  Prof.  Maisch  stated  this 
agreed  with  the  proposal  of  Mr.  England,  as  honey  consists  in  part  of  glu- 
cose. Before  the  theoretical  suggestions  of  the  paper  were  accepted,  they 
should  at  least  in  part  be  verified  by  experiment  and  analysis.  He  had  al- 
ways found  the  precipitate  occurring  in  the  syrup,  to  retain  some  iodine  even 
after  prolonged  washing,  and  the  aqueous  solution  of  ferrous  iodide  he 
thought  had  an  acid  reaction.  Mr.  England  said  he  had  not  tested  it 
before  the  addition  of  the  sugar.  Mr.  Beringer  iaid  that  he  had  seen 
some  samples  of  syrupy  glucose  which  were  very  acid  from  sulphurous 
acid  used  in  decolorizing  it,  and  that  some  of  these  samples  were  so 
strongly  contaminated  that  the  character  of  the  acid  was  easily  recognized 
by  its  odor. 
Mr.  Beringer  read  a  paper  upon  an  adulteration  of  ground  elm  bark  ;  the 
bark  was  thought  to  be  of  western  production.  Both  of  these  papers  were 
referred  to  the  publication  committee. 
Mr.  Moerk  read  some  extracts  from  a  paper  by  a  German  apothecary,  M. 
Marpmann,  upon  fat  absorptions  and  a  new  substitute  for  cod  liver  oil;  the  state- 
ment that  cod  liver  oil  owes  its  therapeutic  value  to  the  presence  of  free 
fatty  acids  has  been  frequently  made  and  it  has  been  noticed  that  the  pale 
or  bleached  oils  are  less  tolerated  than  those  having  a  yellow  or  light  brown 
color.  The  quantity  of  free  acid  calculated  as  oleic  acid  varies  from  .2  to  4  per 
per  cent-;  lard,  when  fresh,  varies  from  1  to  1.52  per  cent.,  and  old  lard  contains 
at  times  as  much  as  6  per  cent.  All  the  facts  make  it  quite  unlikely  that  the 
assimilation  is  in  ratio  to  the  acids  present,  and  the  chemical  conditions  and 
physiological  considerations  render  it  quite  improbable.  The  pancreatic 
ferment  decomposes  the  fats  and  the  bile  emulsifies  the  acids  as  such  or  after 
combination  with  bases,  which  then  are  in  this  condition  assimilated.  Chem- 
ical changes  do  not  take  place  in  the  fatty  acids  when  fats  are  decomposed; 
the  acids  are  deposited  as  such  and  there  is  no  reason  why  an  acid  fat  should 
exhibit  different  reactions  under  pancreatic  ferments  to  those  shown  by  a 
neutral  fat.  The  rapidity  of  the  change  seems  to  be  owing  to  thepocency 
of  the  fermenting  principle  ;  and  it  has  never  yet  been  shown  why  cod  liver 
oil  is  more  medicinally  active  than  other  oils.  Fluid  fats  seem  to  cause 
more  difficulty  in  digestion  than  solid  ones  and  it  is  probably  because  they 
•coat  the  food  with  a  layer  that  is  impenetrable  to  the  gastric  juice,  and  some 
fats  cause  less  disturbance  to  the  functions  of  the  stomach  and  are  conse- 
quently easier  of  digestion. 
