AiRvJ^fcf jS?' }  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  593 
The  Eucalyptus  globulus  is  easily  acclimated,  and  has  attained  in  this  coun- 
try a  height  of  from  50  to  70  feet  in  a  few  years.  Mr.  Evan  T.  Ellis  wished  to 
know  their  latitude  of  growth,  upon  which  question  Mr.  Beringer  remarked 
that  they  were  quite  easily  acclimated,  and  that  Eucalyptus  alpina  could  prob- 
ably be  grown  in  the  higher  climates,  and  that  different  species  could  be  adapted 
for  different  altitudes. 
Mr.  England  said  that  he  had  heard  it  stated  by  physicians  that  the  anti-mala- 
rial effects  attributed  to  them  were  due  to  their  power  of  absorbing  moisture 
rather  than  to  the  emanations  from  them,  to  which  opinion  Mr.  Beringer  partly 
assented,  believing  that  they  acted  in  a  dual  capacity,  and  referred  to  the  fact 
that  in  Italy  these  trees  had  been  successfully  used  to  reclaim  large  tracts  of 
the  most  malarial  marshes. 
Prof.  Edson  S.  Bastin  described  some  plants  which  had  been  grown  by  Prof. 
Babcock  at  the  Chicago  Botanical  Gardens,  and  remarked,  in  this  connection, 
that  the  beneficial  influence  of  these  trees  is  due  to  the  ozonizing  effects  of  the 
oil,  as  is  the  case  in  pine  districts,  and  that  the  statement  of  the  quantity  of 
water  evaporated  by  them  was  probably  exaggerated,  and  that  they  do  not  sur- 
pass, in  this  respect,  other  plants  comparing  with  theni  in  size. 
Mr.  Beringer  spoke  of  the  enormous  underground  development  of  some 
species,  which  would  account  for  their  absorption  of  water. 
Prof.  Bastin  also  referred  to  the  intense  heat  and  long  seasons  of  drought  in 
Australia  as  being  causes  which  changed  the  shape  of  the  leaves  from  their 
ancestral  forms,  as  indicated  by  the  younger  leaves.  Stomata  exist  on  both 
sides  of  the  leaves  in  equal  number,  and  the  vertical  arrangement  is  probably 
due  to  the  inherited  result  of  heliotropism  or  the  influence  exerted  by 
the  sun. 
Prof.  Joseph  P.  Remington  spoke  of  the  rapid  growth  of  some  plants  which 
were  grown  in  Horticultural  Hall  after  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  1876. 
After  this  discussion  Mr.  Kebler  gave  an  abstracted  report  of  Assays  of  Coca 
Leaves  and  experiments  with  the  fluid  extract  of  coca,  which  he  had  con- 
ducted. His  paper,  embodying  a  report  of  the  work,  is  published  in  this  number 
of  the  Journal,  page  572. 
Mr.  Kebler  showed  quite  a  number  of  samples  of  beeswax.  One  of  these 
contained  90  per  cent,  of  paraffin,  another  both  rosin  and  paraffin,  and  one 
sample  contained  a  substance  which  he,  as  yet,  had  not  been  able  to  identify. 
Mr.  Kebler  would  be  glad  if  any  one  having  time  for  the  work  would  under- 
take the  investigation  of  this  unknown  substance  and  report  upon  it. 
Mr.  Ellis  said  that  when  he  was  in  business  in  1875,  tallow  was  the  only 
adulterant  looked  for,  and  was  detected  by  simply  chewing  the  wax. 
On  motion,  adjourned.  Thos.  S.  Wiegand, 
 Registrar. 
The  first  shipment  of  manganese  ore  from  Cuba  to  Philadelphia  has  recently 
been  reported  by  Consul  Hyatt,  at  Santiago  de  Cuba,  to  the  Department  of 
State  at  Washington.  It  will  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  manufacturers  of  steel 
to  know  that  this  first  shipment  was  made  by  the  Pompo  Mining  Company, 
which  has  a  capacity  of  200  tons  per  day,  but  the  demand  for  ore  from  this 
country  is  beyond  their  capacity  to  supply.  The  supply  of  this  ore  has  here- 
tofore come  principally  from  the  Black  Sea  region  of  Europe. 
