474         Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  { Am\££\?7h6arm' 
materials  not  having  had  an  identical  origin.  During  the  discussion,  the  President 
expressed  an  opinion  in  favor  of  a  clearer  definition  of  the  degrees  of  fineness  of 
powders  in  the  next  edition  of  the  "  British  Pharmacopoeia."  The  next  note  was 
by  Mr.  Stoddart,  an  the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid  on  the  coloring  matter  of  Cro- 
cus sat'vvus  in  the  presence  of  sugar.  Five  papers  on  opium  followed.  Mr.  Dott, 
induced  by  variations  he  had  met  with  in  the  morphia  strength  of  opium  prepara- 
tions, expressed  himself  strongly  in  favor  of  the  use  of  definite  chemical  principles 
instead  of  crude  drugs  5  Messrs.  Proctor  and  Cleaver  gave  some  valuable  informa- 
tion respecting  the  assay  of  opium  5  Dr.  Wright  described  his  continued  research  on 
the  opium  alkaloids,  and  Mr.  Brown  announced  the  presence  of  free  acetic  acid  in 
opium.  Next,  the  use  of  gum  tragacanth  and  glycerin  for  a  pill  excepient  was  ad- 
vocated by  Mr.  Welborn  5  afterwards  Mr.  HafFenden  described  his  method  of  mak- 
ing phosphorus  pills.  Jaborandi  this  year  furnished  but  one  paper,  that  in  which 
Mr.  Gerrard  described  the  action  of  various  solvents  upon  "some  salts  of  pilocarp- 
ine j"  these  he  appeared  to  look  upon  as  compounds  of  the  alkaloid  to  which  Mr. 
Kingsett  recently  attributed  a  definite  formula,  but  Mr.  Kingsttt  hardly  acquiesced 
in  the  assumption.  The  next  paper,  by  Dr.  Wright,  showed  that  with  respect  to 
the  aconite  alkaloids  also,  there  still  exists  considerable  haziness.  In  the  last  paper 
read  on  Tuesday,  Mr.  Thresh  gave  some  further  information  respecting  the  active 
principle  of  capsicum  fruit,  and  described  some  painful  physiological  experiments  he 
had  performed  upon — himself.  s 
The  second  day's  proceedings  opened  with  Mr.  Kingsett's  fourth  report  on  the 
oxidation  of  essential  oils,  a  research  which  the  author  indicates  will  probably  even- 
tuate in  the  manufacture  commercially  of  a  valuable  antiseptic.  Mr.  Muir  made  a 
preliminary  report  on  oil  of  sage.  A  preliminary  report  was  also  made  on  the 
chemistry  of  ivy  by  Mr.  Davies.  Dr.  Tilden  summarized  the  results  obtained  from 
the  administration  of  the  varieties  of  aloin  to  patients  in  the  Bristol  Hospital,  an 
account  of  which  has  already  been  published  in  this  Journal.  Mr.  Andrews  sug- 
gested a  formula  for  a  glycerinum  cinchona?.  Mr.  Gerrard  recommended  the  sub- 
stitution of  Canada  balsam  for  the  resin  and  suet  in  the  B.  P.  cantharides  plaster,, 
which  he  considers  to  be  insufficiently  adhesive  and  flexible.  Mr.  Brown  proposed 
a  solution  of  citrate  of  iron  and  quinia,  to  be  preserved  by  addition  of  chloroform. 
Such  an  addition,  however,  was  generally  disapproved  of,  and  it  was  stated  that  a 
strong  solution  could  be  kept  without  it.  Mr.  Howie  now  submitted  to  the  Con- 
ference the  importance  of  deciding  what  should  be  considered  the  standard  strength 
of  the  compound  syrup  of  the  phosphates.  Mr.  Greenish  described  the  constituents 
met  with  in  various  filtering  papers,  and  exhibited  a  specimen  of  Japanese  filtering 
paper,  prepared  from  the  liber  tissue  of  the  paper  mulberry  [Broussonetia  papyrifera). 
Three  papers  had  for  their  subject  salicylic  acid.  In  consequence  of  the  impurities 
met  with  in  commercial  salicylic  acid,  and  the  difficulty  experienced  in  purifying 
by  recrystallization,  salicylate  of  soda  prepared  from  it,  Mr.  Williams' attention  has 
been  turned  to  the  sulphosalicylate  of  soda.  This  salt  gives,  with  perchloride  of 
iron,  the  purple  color  characteristic  of  salicylic  acid,  from  which  Mr.  Williams  in- 
fers that  the  salicyl  radicle  remains  in  it  unchanged.  Mr.  Hunter  has  confirmed,  by 
fresh  experiments,  the  antiseptic  properties  of  salicylic  acid.  Some  experiments, 
made  by  Mr.  Benger,  to  ascertain  the  condition  in  which  salicylic  acid  is  excreted 
