444  Twenty-fourth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  {Am-^\s^rm' 
The  Committee  on  the  place  and  time  of  the  next  annual  meeting 
reported  in  favor  of  Toronto,  Ont.,  and  that  the  meeting  be  held  on 
the  first  Tuesday  (the  fourth  day)  of  September,  1877.  The  recom- 
mendations were  adopted,  and  an  invitation  was  then  extended  by  the 
delegation  from  Cincinnati  to  meet  in  that  city  in  1878. 
An  invitation  from  the  Pennsylvania  Salt  Manufacturing  Company, 
to  visit  their  works,  at  Greenwich  Point,  on  Tuesday  morning,  at  9 
o'clock,  was  accepted,  with  thanks. 
Mr.  Richard  M.  Shoemaker,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the 
Drug  Market,  read  the  report  of  that  committee,  giving  an  account  of 
the  condition  of  the  drug  market  during  the  past  year.  It  was  supple- 
mented by  a  report  from  the  Pacific  Coast,  written  by  Mr.  Henry 
Steele. 
Prof.  Diehl  read  the  very  interesting  introduction  to  the  Report  on 
the  Progress  of  Pharmacy,  in  which  a  review  is  given  of  the  most 
important  observations  and  investigations  made  during  the  year.  This 
portion,  together  with  the  voluminous  report  belonging  to  it,  was 
referred  for  publication. 
Professor  E.  SchefFer  read  an  instructive  paper,  in  answer  to  the 
query,  What  is  lactopeptin  ?  From  his  numerous  experiments,  the 
author  concludes  "  that  lactopeptin  is  an  acidulated,  saccharated  pep- 
sin, contaminated  with  a  number  of  inert  substances,  and  that  in  its 
digestive  strength  it  is  inferior  to  the  saccharated  pepsins  of  the  mar- 
ket." The  elimination  of  pancreatin  and  diastase  from  lactopeptin 
had  been  attempted  by  macerating  the  latter  in  water,  neutralizing  the 
solution  by  calcium  carbonate,  and  precipitating  by  alcohol ;  the  pre- 
cipitate showed  none  of  the  properties  of  either  pancreatin  or  diastase. 
A  paper  presented  by  the  same  author  and  entitled  "  Notes  on  pan- 
creatin, diastase  and  ptyalin,"  supplements  the  preceding  ;  the  experi- 
ments detailed  therein  lead  to  the  conclusion  upon  which  all  physio- 
logical authorities  agree,  that  pepsin  acts  in  like  manner  upon  all  albu- 
minoids, and  converts  them  into  pepton. 
-  The  itching  principle  of  squill  (query  18)  was  the  subject  of  a 
paper  by  Mr.  E.  D.  Chipman,  who  believed  with  Tilloy  in  the  exist- 
ence of  two  active  principles  in  squill,  one  yellow  and  bitter  and  the 
other  a  very  acrid  resinoid,  to  the  latter  of  which  was  due  the  itching 
and  tingling  sensation  when  applied  to  the  skin.    It  was  stated,  how- 
