Aai^JounPharBi.j     Minutes  of  the  Pharmaeeutical  Meeting.  279 
Professor  Maisch  referred  to  forins  of  lactometer  proposed  some  years  ago, 
whereby  the  quality  of  milk  was  ascertained  by  the  degree  of  opacity. 
Professor  Maisch  read  a  paper  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Kennedy,  upon  pharmaceu- 
tical preparations  of  the  stigmata  of  zea  maps,  or  corn  silk  (see  page  242). 
He  said  that  in  his  opinion  the  virtues  of  this  drug  would  probably  be  found 
to  reside  in  one  or  more  varieties  of  sugar,  as  was  the  case  with  the  rhizome 
of  triticum  rei)ens  ;  in  his  opinion  corn  silk  lost  far  more  than  50  per  cent, 
of  its  weight  on  drying, 
Mr.  Bobbins  said  that  on  drying  one  pound  of  fresh  corn  silk  he  obtained 
little  more  than  one  ounce;  he  knew  that  as  good  results  had  been  observed 
with  ,the  dry  as  with  the  fresh  article.  Several  members  reported  similar 
experience. 
Mr.  Henry  Trimble  mentioned  a  case  of  spurious  cream  of  tartar  which 
had  been  submitted  to  him  for  examination  ;  its  composition  proved  to  be 
about  60  per  cent,  of  gypsum,  10  per  cent,  of  tartaric  acid  and  30  per  cent, 
of  alum ;  it  was  offered  by  a  grocery  firm. 
The  subject  of  ready  made  coated  quinine  pills  was  discussed,  and  the 
sense  of  the  meeting  was  that  it  was  the  especial  duty  of  apothecaries  to 
prepare  their  own  pharmaceuticals,  pills,  fluid  extracts,  tinctures,  etc.  In 
this  connection  Mr.  Thompson  read  an  abstract  from  a  report  published  in 
the  April  number  of  the  "Chicago  Pharmacist,"  on  the  composition  of 
ready  made  quinine  pills,  giving  the  quantities  of  the  sulphates  of  (quinine 
and  of  the  other  cinchona  all^aloids. 
Professor  Maisch  stated  that  he  had  not  yet  read  the  report  and  now 
merely  wished  to  say,  that  he  was  surprised  to  find  as  the  result  of  the 
analysis  where  no,  or  merely  an  insignificant,  deficiency  of  weight  was 
found,  that  the  proportion  of  the  other  cinchona  alkaloids  to  quinine  varied 
to  such  an  extent ;  it  was  well  known  that  the  quinine  sulphate  turned  out 
by  the  same  manufacturer  must  vary  in  this  respect,  but  to  what  extent  the 
quinine  at  present  in  the  American  market  differed  was  not  known;  some 
light  would  probably  be  shed  on  this  question  l)y  the  analysis  of  a  large 
number  of  samples  which  have  been  collected  during  the  jjast  six  months. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  crystallized  quinine  sulj)hate  contains  8 
molecules  of  water,  or  2  per  cent,  more  than  is  given  in  the  Pharmacopoeia, 
and  that  manufacturers  furnish  it  with  the  full  amount  of  water;  pills  made 
with  such  quinine  would  then  apparently  be  2  per  cent,  deficient.  That  the 
salt  readily  loses  its  water  of  crystallization  w^as  well  known,  and  it  was 
obvious,  therefore,  that  to  secure  a  uniform  hydration,  the  Pha.macopo^ia 
should  recognize  the  salt  fully  effloresced  at  the  ordinary  temperature,  a 
plan  advocated  years  ago  by  Kerner  and  others. 
Mr.  Trimble  thought  that  this  matter  w^ould  be  cleared  up  to  some  extent 
when  the  quinines  of  commerce  were  tested  for  the  relative  proportion  of 
water  contained  therein,  which  was  sometimes  more  than  the  8  molecules 
assumed  to  be  the  normal  quantity. 
A  safety  poison  cabinet  was  exhibited  by  Mr.  B.  H.  C.  Sandy.  This  ap- 
paratus was  exhibited  about  two  years  since  at  one  of  the  pharmaceutical 
meetings,  and  then  fully  explained. 
On  motion  adjourned.  T.  S.  Wii:aANi),  Registrar. 
