Am'M°ayr;i876a.rm'}  Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations  235 
which  is  probably  metallic  mercury.  Prof.  Attfleld  did  not  agree  with  this  conclu- 
sion ;  metallic  mercury  was  obtained  by  sublimation,  but  that  the  residue  was  noth- 
ing but  metallic  mercury  had  not  been  proven.  He  hoped  that  the  authors  would 
continue  their  researches 
Mr.  W.  Willmott  read  a  paper  on  Linimentum  Saponis,  Br.  P.,  <with  special  refer- 
ence to  its  employment  in  hospital  practice,  in  which  the  directions  contained  in  the 
various  editions  of  the  London  and  British  "Pharmacopoeias"  are  discussed,  and 
compared  with  the  formulas  in  use  by  five  of  the  London  hospitals;  the  author  sug- 
gests the  following  modification  of  the  formula:  16  oz.  of  soft  soap  (free  from  caus- 
tic potash),  8  oz  of  camphor,  and  2  fl.  oz.  of  oil  of  rosemary  are  mixed  with  5  pints 
(100  fl.  oz.)  of  rectified  spirit  (spec,  grav.,  o'838),  the  mixture  is  occasionally  stirred 
during  twenty-four  hours,  strained  or  filtered,  and  mixed  with  3  pints  (60  fl.  oz.)  of 
distilled  water.  The  spirit  rapidly  disintegrates  the  soap,  and  dissolves  the  neutral 
portion  only,  leaving  behind  the  irritating  alkaline  matter,  which  is  soluble  in  water. 
The  liniment  remains  clear  and  free  from  sediment  at  all  temperatures. 
In  the  discussion  which  followed,  the  speakers  expressed  themselves  against  the 
substitution  of  soft  for  the  hard  soap  ordered  by  the  "  Pharmacopoeia."  The  excess 
of  soap  used  in  the  British  "  Pharmacopoeia  "  process  could  be  utilized  by  pressing 
it  in  a  mould,  and  using  it  for  washing. 
Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Paris. — Mr.  Coulier  presided  at  the  meeting  held 
February  2d,  at  which  Mr.  Planchon  gave  an  account  of  the  recent  researches  on 
the  various  transformations  of  the  larvae  of  cantharides. 
Mr.  Legrip  read  a  note  on  Dietheralysis,1  which  is  the  name  given  by  him  to  a 
new  method  for  extracting  vegetable  juices  ;  it  consists  in  mechanically  dividing  the 
fresh  plants  or  their  parts,  collected  during  the  period  of  their  greatest  activity,  and 
then  subject  them,  in  a  suitable  apparatus,  to  the  direct  action  of  the  ether.  Two 
layers  of  liquid  are  formed,  the  upper  green  one  being  a  solution  of  chlorophyll  and 
fat  in  ether,  the  lower  aqueous  layer  being  thick  and  brown,  and  containing  all  the 
proximate  principles,  dissolved  or  not,  which  have  been  expulsed  from  the  cells  with 
the  vegetable  fluids  under  the  pressure  of  the  ether.  Even  odorous  juices  retain, 
under  the  ether,  their  peculiar  perfume. 
The  facts  stated  can  be  readily  demonstrated  by  making  a  number  of  perforations 
in  a  test-tube,  enclosing  in  it  a  fresh  leaf  and  suspending  the  tube  in  a  larger  vessel 
containing  ether,  and  closing  the  latter  hermetically.  The  ether  will  soon  begin  to 
assume  a  green  color,  and  the  juice  to  separate  in  minute  brownish  drops,  and  the 
leaf  will  finally  be  left  completely  decolorized.  It  is  evident  that  the  constituents 
will  by  this  process  be  obtained  in  their  natural  condition,  without  any  alteration. 
Mr.  Limousin  observed  that  ether  would  dissolve  many  proximate  principles  ;  but 
Mr.  Legrip  regards  the  action  of  the  ether  to  be  mechanical  rather  than  solvent. 
Mr.  Limousin  called  attention  to  an  observation  made  by  A.  Duhomme,  accord- 
ing to  which  a  hydrometer  does  not  indicate  for  a  time  the  correct  density  of  the 
liquid,  if  this  should  run  over  either  during  or  after  the  immersion  of  the  instrument. 
1  From  Sia,  through,  by  means  of;  niQup,  ether;  xw«f/f,  separation,  or  h6a>,  to  dis- 
charge, loosen. 
