570         Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations,  {km^;^m' 
Oil  of  Florida  cedar  was  shown  by  Dr.  Miller,  who  had  had  it  offered  him  as  an 
excellent  adulterant  for  oil  of  sandal  wood,  which  it  resembled  in  odor. 
Mr.  Boring  stated  that  tincture  of  columba  could  be  made  perfectly  clear  by 
percolating  the  root  without  previous  moistening. 
The  use  of  paraffin  in  the  process  of  enfleurage,  as  practised  in  the  French 
flower  farming  districts,  was  alluded  to,  and  in  connection  with  it  French  oil  of  rose, 
as  exhibited  at  the  Centennial,  the  first  made  in  that  country,  worth  twenty-five 
dollars  an  ounce  in  gold. 
Mr.  Mclntyre  stated  that  Irish  dulse  was  used  largely  for  food  in  his  neighbor- 
hood, being  esteemed  alterative  in  its  effect.  It  consists  of  two  species  of  algae, 
which  are  common  on  the  coasts  of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  namely  :  Halymenia 
(s.  Fucus,  s.  Rhodomela),  edulis  and  palmata,  Agardh. 
President  Kennedy  gave  the  outlines  for  a  process  for  making  diluted  hydro- 
cyanic acid,  in  which  the  concentrated  acid  is  made  as  usual,  but  stronger  alcohol 
used  as  the  diluent.    This,  he  stated,  seemed  to  keep  perfectly  unchanged. 
A  discussion  ensued  on  the  means  of  preservation  of  ointments,  after  which 
the  meeting  adjourned.  Wallace  Procter,  Secretary, 
Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain. — At  the  pharmaceutical  meet- 
ing held  November  ist,  President  John  Williams  in  the  chair,  Prof.  Archer  made  a 
few  general  remarks  about  the  chemical  and  pharmaceutical  sections  of  the  Centen- 
nial Exhibition,  and  gave  an  account  of  the  exercises  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  at  which  he  had  been  present. 
Mr.  Thos.  Greenish  read  a  paper  containing  suggestions  for  an  improved  method 
of  making  mistura  guaiaci  and  similar  mixtures.  In  endeavoring  to  dispense  an 
emulsion  of  copaiba  resin,  the  author  had  met  with  unexpected  difficulties,  which 
he  overcame  by  triturating  the  resin  with  some  milk-sugar,  then  adding  alcohol, 
and  afterwards  gum  arabic  in  place  of  the  mucilage  ordered,  the  mixture,  being 
finished  by  the  requisite  amount  of  water ;  the  quantities  were  as  follows:  Res. 
Copaibas  ^iss  ;  Sacch.  lactis  ^iii ;  Alcohol  5iii  5  Pulv.  Acaciae  £v  ;  Aquae  ad  3vi.  m. 
This  suggested  a  slight  alteration  in  the  officinal  guaiacum  mixture,  which  the 
author  proposes  to  make  in  a  similar  manner,  by  using  powdered  guaiacum,  sugar 
of  milk  and  gum  arabic,  of  each  half  an  ounce  ;  rectified  spiiit  5  fluid  drachms  and 
cinnamon  water  sufficient  to  make  one  pint  (imperial). 
A  question  by  Mr.  Gerrard,  as  to  whether  copaiba  resin  was  not  frequently 
contaminated  with  copper,  led  to  several  statements  that  the  resin  attacked  copper 
and  lead,  and  should,  therefore,  not  be  prepared  in  metallic  stills  ;  moreover,  it 
should  not  have  a  green  color.  In  the  discussion  the  purity  of  different  varieties  of 
guaiacum  resin,  and  the  cause  and  nature  of  the  change  of  its  color  to  green  were 
referred  to  ;  also  the  necessity  of  extended  researches  on  emulsions,  natural  as. 
well  as  artificial,  and  the  changes  occurring  during  and  after  mixture  with  certain 
liquids. 
Mr.  Martindale  exhibited  several  varieties  of  spread  plasters,  prepared  by  an 
American  firm,  and  alluded  to  their  very  adhesive  basis  and  great  flexibility.  Great 
