142         Pharmaceutical  Colleges  und  Associations.  {Am\l™?  J^™' 
years,  and  are  yet  offered  for  sale.  There  ought  to  be  a  limit  to  the  practice,  as 
there  are  but  few  botanical  drugs  which  do  not  deteriorate  by  time  and  exposure. 
This  class  of  drugs  is  not  so  important  a  department  of  the  pharmacist's  stock  as 
formerly,  yet  it  behooves  us  to  be  guarded  as  to  the  quality  of  all  drugs  passing 
through  our  hands,  and  it  ought  to  be  somebody's  business  to  look  after  it. 
Mr.  Messing  said,  if  parties  engaged  in  putting  up  herbs,  etc.,  were  required  to 
print  the  date  of  growth  on  each  package,  it  would  be  an  important  precaution. 
Most  druggists  thoughtlessly  allow  an  old  stock  of  herbs  to  accumulate,  forgetting 
their  age  5  but  he  thought  it  not  warrantable  in  any  case  that  they  be  kept  longer 
than  two  to  five  years,  even  in  proper  receptacles,  while  man}'  druggists  keep  them 
in  paper  or  cigar  boxes  or  loosely  piled  upon  shelves.  It  was  suggested  that  the 
remarks  would  as  well  apply  to  some  pharmaceutical  preparations  which,  being 
little  used,  stand  on  the  shelves  for  years,  becoming  entirely  unfit  for  use,  yet  they 
are  dispensed.  The  appointment,  by  the  College  of  Pharmacy  or  by  the  Board  of 
Health,  of  an  inspector  was  suggested,  who  should  be  an  expert  of  recognized  abil- 
ity, and  vested  with  power  to  condemn  all  drugs  which,  after  faithful  examination, 
prove  to  be  inert,  sophisticated  or  adulterated.  The  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Adulterations  and  Sophistications,  made  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association,  shows  that  quite  a  variety  of  such  drugs  find  their 
way  into  the  pharmacies,  either  through  the  ignorance  or  carelessmess  of  pharma- 
cists. The  discussion  was  extended  to  some  length,  bringing  out  many  interesting 
facts  upon  this  important  subject,  showing  that  many  drugs  pass  through  our  mar- 
ket that  would  be  much  more  fitting  in  accompaniment  with  the  wares  of  Shakspeare's 
woe-begotten  apothecary  of  Mantua  than  to  the  stock  of  an  American  pharmacy. 
The  next  meeting  will  be  held  Tuesday  evening,  March  7th,  when  nominations 
are  to  be  made  for  officers  for  the  ensuing  year. 
The  Maryland  College  of  Pharmacy  held  a  pharmaceutical  meeting, 
February  16th,  at  which  Mr.  W.  S.  Thompson  read  a  paper  on  hydrobromic  acid, 
and  Mr.  J.  F.  Hancock  one  on  saffron,  giving  a  sketch  of  its  history,  &c.  We  are 
pleased  to  learn  that  this  College  has  purchased  from  the  city  of  Baltimore  one  of 
the  school-houses,  which  is  located  in  a  pleasant  and  quiet  neighborhood,  and  has  a 
lot  74  feet  front  by  no  feet  deep. 
Cincinnati  College  of  Pharmacy. — The  first  pharmaceutical  meeting  for  the 
year  1876  was  held  February  9th,  President  Eaton  in  the  chair.  The  attendance 
was  unusually  large,  and  much  interest  was  manifested.  Prof.  Judge  gave  the  result 
of  his  experiments  on  discolored  syrup  of  iodide  of  iron,  and  recommended  hypo- 
phosphorous  acid  as  the  agent  to  restore  the  altered  syrup,  in  preference  to  hyposul- 
phite of  sodium,  which,  on  being  added  to  discolored  syrup,  passes  into  sodium 
sulphate,  and  precipitates  one-half  of  the  sulphur  it  contains,  leaving  the  syrup  as 
unpleasant  in  appearance  as  before  the  addition.  Hypophosphorous  acid,  having 
the  same  affinity  for  oxygen,  would  effect  the  same  change  as  the  hyposulphite, 
leaving,  however,  the  syrup  clear  and  of  the  proper  color. 
Prof.  E.  S.  Wayne  exhibited  a  specimen  of  Indian  mallow  [Abutilon  Anjicenna) 
nat.  ord.  Malvaceae,  which  is  a  troublesome  weed.    Paper,  he  remarked,  was  made 
