April '  i88'r°''}  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  203 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  March  20,  1883. 
In  the  absence  of  the  President,  Mr.  Aloiizo  Robbins  was  called  to  the 
<}hair.    The  minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting  were  read  and  approved. 
The  following  donations  to  the  library  were  made  :  "United  States  Dis- 
pensatory." third  edition,  from  Mr.  Harold  B.  Miller,  and  the  fifteenth  of 
the  same  work,  revised  by  Professors  Wood,  Remington  and  Sadtler,  from 
the  editors ;  also  the  third  edition  of  the  "  Manual  of  Chemical  Analysis  as 
Applied  to  the  Examination  ot  Medicinal  Chemicals,"  by  Dr.  F.  Hoffmann 
and  Professor  F.  B.  Power,  from  the  authors  ;  and  a  copy  of  the  Report  of 
the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  These  were  accepted  with 
thanks. 
The  committee  appointed  at  last  meeting  upon  the  formulas  for  unguentum 
hydrargyri  nitratis  and  for  tincture  of  iodine  reported  progress,  and  read  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Heinitsh,  stating  that  the  formula  for  the  first  named 
preparation  yielded  an  ointment  which  was  not  aftected  by  iron,  but  that 
no  special  advantage  could  be  noticed  in  the  change  proposed  for  the  tinc- 
ture.   The  committee  was  continued. 
.  The  following  papers  were  read  :  un  the  Fluid  Extracts  of  the  New 
Pharmacopoeia,  by  Mr.  Alonzo  Robbins ;  Note  on  Milk  Analysis,  by  Henry 
Trimble ;  and  On  the  Preparation  of  Hydrobromic  Acid,  by  Thomas  S. 
Wiegand. 
In  regard  to  the  examination  of  milk.  Professor  Maisch  stated  that  the 
specific  gravity  alone  afforded  no  criterion  as  to  its  purity,  inasmuch  as  skim 
milk  was  heavier,  and,  by  diluting  it  with  20  or  25  per  cent,  of  water,  mix- 
tures could  be  obtained  having  the  same  density  as  pure  milk.  Lacto- 
meters based  upon  determining  the  opacity  of  milk,  or  the  amount  of  cream 
•or  of  butter  yielded  by  it,  gave  more  reliable  results. 
It  was  suggested  to  request  Mr.  Gustavus  Pile  to  exhibit  and  explain  the 
lactometers  of  his  make  at  the  next  Pharmaceutical  meeting. 
Referring  to  the  omission  of  processes  for  chemicals  from  the  Pharma- 
-copoeia.  Professor  Maisch  said  that  the  object  was  not  to  drive  the  manufac- 
ture into  the  chemists'  hands,  but  to  leave  the  choice  of  the  process  alto- 
gether optional,  provided  only  that  the  result  would  come  up  to  the  standard 
of  purity  adopted.  Attention  being  called  to  the  introduction  of  sa^cliarated 
j>epsin  without  a  process,  it  was  stated  that  the  tests  were  deemed  to  be 
ample  for  securing  a  uniform  product,  without  making  hog's  stomach 
officinal,  from  which  the  pepsin  is  to  be  prepared. 
A  specimen  of  oil  of  anise  which  had  solidified  was  exhibited,  and  it  was 
<iueried  whether  it  was  genuine.  It  was  explained  that  it  was  oil  of 
staranise. 
Dr.  Wolff  alluded  to  the  specific  gravity  of  oleic  acid  as  given  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  being  different  from  the  authorities  he  had  consulted  and 
Jhis  own  determinations. 
On  motion  adjourned.  T.  S.  Wiegand,  Registrar. 
