182 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharru. 
\      March,  1895. 
of  5  drops  of  the  solution  to  5  grammes  of  the  suspected  article  ;  they  should 
be  thoroughly  triturated  in  a  glass  or  porcelain  mortar ;  if  the  petrolatum  is 
uncontaminated  with  organic  matter  the  color  remains  as  normal,  but  in  the 
presence  of  organic  matter  it  turns  chestnut-brown. 
Rock  candy  syrup  was  also  reported  on.  This  is  generally  thought  to  be  the 
residue  from  the  manufacture  of  rock  candy,  evaporated  to  a  proper  consistence. 
Samples  that  had  been  examined  showed  considerable  variation,  some  contain- 
ing notable  amounts  of  uncrystallizable  sugar.  Some  manufacturers  make  it 
from  granulated  sugar  by  solution  in  water  and  bringing  it  to  the  specific  grav- 
ity of  1*32.  One  manufacturer  claimed  that  he  used  1  ounce  of  salicylic  acid 
in  500  gallons  of  syrup. 
A  label  cabinet  of  neat  and  thorough  workmanship  was  exhibited.  The  design, 
as  shown  by  the  accompanying  figure,  is  novel  and  well  calculated  to  answer 
the  object  for  which  it  was  designed  ;  the  drawer  is  divided  from  front  to  back 
with  strips  of  wood,  making  spaces  slightly  wider  than  the  labels.  A  ribbon  of 
nickel-plated  metal,  the  exact  width  of  the  divisions,  is  secured  to  the  front  of 
the  drawer  and  made  into  curves  slanting  from  the  top  of  the  front  of  the 
drawer  all  the  way  to  the  back,  so  that  the  labels  lie  at  an  angle  of  nearly  450 
to  the  bottom  of  the  drawer.  This  enables  one  to  take  any  label  out  of  its 
appropriate  place  with  great  ease.  Screws  are  arranged  by  which  any  shrink- 
age of  the  wood  may  be  taken  up  very  readily  and  exactly. 
The  question  of  methods  to  prevent  accidents  in  dispensing  prescriptions  was 
brought  up  for  discussion.  The  general  opinion  was  that  no  mechanical  con- 
trivance could  be  relied  on  to  prevent  mistakes.  Constant  vigilance  is  the  only 
method  to  avoid  errors. 
Dr.  Miller  said  it  was  his  rule  to  insist  upon  the  patient's  name  being  placed 
upon  the  prescriptions,  and  if  for  external  use  it  be  also  indicated  in  the  direc- 
tions to  be  placed  on  the  label. 
There  being  no  further  business,  on  motion  adjourned. 
T.  S.  Weigand,  Registrar. 
NOTES. 
C.  Uffelmann  and  A.  Borner  (Zeit.  fur  angewand.  Chemie,  23,  710,  through 
Analyst,  20,  42)  have  analyzed  ten  samples  of  Kola  nut,  varying  in  price  from 
$1  to  $5  per  pound,  with  the  following  average  results  : 
Per  Cent. 
Water   13 '35 
Total  nitrogen   1  "53 
Caffeine  (including  theobromine)    2-o8 
Ethereal  extract   1  "35 
Starch   45 '44 
Tannin   379 
Cellulose   7'oi 
Other  non-nitrogenous  matter   18 '21 
Mineral  matter   2*90 
In  spite  of  the  great  difference  in  price,  the  different  specimens  showed  a 
great  similarity  in  composition. 
