234         Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  {Km^;^xm' 
addition  of  sodic  phosphate ;  and  he  proposes  to  omit  the  acetate  and  increase  the 
phosphate  to  nearly  three  times  the  weight  of  the  iron  salt  (42  parts  of  the  former 
and  15  of  the  latter  were  found  necessary),  when  the  filtrate  will  scarcely  contain 
traces  of  iron. 
Prof.  Attfield  was  not  previously  aware  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  iron  could 
be  lost  by  the  "  Pharmacopoeia  "  process,  and  explained  the  action  of  the  excess  of 
the  phosphate  used,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Price,  by  the  conversion,  through  the  lib- 
erated sulphuric  acid,  of  the  ordinary  sodic  phosphate  Na2HP04  into  NaH2P04. 
This  monosadium  phosphate  could  be  reconverted  into  the  ordinary  or  disodium 
salt  by  reaction  with  carbonate  of  sodium. 
Mr.  Brownen  had  obtained  almost  pure  ferrous  phosphate  as  a  white  crystalline 
magma  by  acting  with  phosphoric  acid  upon  iron  filings  or  turnings,  and  straining 
the  solution. 
Mr.  John  Moss  read  a  lengthy  and  very  interesting  paper  on  the  structure  and 
development  of  Pareira  stem,  which  cannot  well  be  abstracted.  It  is  printed  with 
two  wood-cuts  in  the  London  "  Pharmaceutical  Journal,"  March  4,  pp.  702 — 707. 
Mr.  W.  A.  H.  Naylor  read  a  paper  on  Cosmolin,  referring  therein  to  the  investi- 
gations of  Dr.  A.  W.  Miller,  apparently  without  being  aware  of  the  later  experi- 
ments ("Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1875,  P«  257)-  Mr.  Naylor's  object  being  to  deter- 
mine its  composition,  he  found  it  to  consist  of  hydrocarbons  with  a  little  (-69  per 
cent.)  moisture,  and  traces  ("04  per  cent.)  of  ash.  By  dissolving  it  in  warm  ether 
and  collecting  the  portions  separating  on  exposing  the  solution  to  different  degrees 
of  low  temperature,  he  obtained  fractions  melting  between  the  extremes  of  16*5  and 
53'5°  C.  Similar  results  were  obtained  with  each  of  the  two  portions  of  cosmolin, 
soluble  and  insoluble  in  boiling  alcohol.  By  fractional  distillation,  portions  having 
different  melting  points  were  likewise  obtained.  The  author  concludes  from  his 
experiments  that  cosmolin  is  a  mixture  of  paraffins. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  the  session,  held  April  5th,  Mr.  T.  H.  Hill  presiding, 
Professor  Attfield  called  attention  to  a  sample  of  foreign  crystallized  glycerin.  To 
obtain  it,  it  appeared  to  be  necessary  that  the  glycerin  should  be  perfectly  pure, 
fairly  cold,  and  subjected  to  considerable  vibration.  The  crystals,  it  was  said,  could 
be  used  for  purifying  slightly  impure  glycerin,  in  which  they  would  grow,  leaving 
the  impurities  in  the  mother  liquor. 
Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes  stated  that  the  leaves  and  flowers  sent,  under  the  name  of 
Garrya  elliptica,  by  Prof.  Maisch  (see  "Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,"i  875,  p.  279),  appeared 
to  belong  rather  to  Garrya  Fremontii,  in  having  the  leaves  smooth  underneath  and 
not  undulated.    A  living  specimen  of  G.  elliptica  was  exhibited  for  comparison. 
A  paper  by  T.  H.  Powell  and  J.  Bayne  was  read,  in  which  experiments  were 
detailed,  made  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  nature  of  the  product  obtained 
by  the  action  of  hydrocyanic  acid  upon  calomel.  After  giving  the  observations  of 
Scheele,  Regimbeau,  Soubeiran  and  others  upon  the  black  powder  formed  by  the 
two  compounds,  the  authors  ascertained  that  the  presence  of  free  hydrochloric  acid 
prevents  the  dark  coloration.  On  adding  hydrocyanic  acid  to  calomel,  a  liquid 
results  which  contains  free  hydrocyanic  and  hydrochloric  acids  and  mercuric  chlo- 
ride and  cyanide  5  if  the  remaining  powder  be  repeatedly  acted  upon  by  fresh  portions 
of  hydrocyanic  acid,  a  black  powder  remains,  which  becomes  grey  on  drying,  and 
