Am.^our  Pharm.  j        AmenGan  Pharmaceutical  Association.  539 
appointed  to  arrange  such  formulas  as  would  be  of  practical  benefit  to 
the  pharmacists  of  the  country,  to  be  known  as  the  unofficinal  formulas  of 
the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.    The  motion  was  adojDted. 
A  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Kennedy,  declaring  the  refusal  of  manufac- 
turers of  patent  medicines  to  abate  prices  after  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  law 
to  be  unwise,  impolitic,  and  an  act  of  injustice  to  the  people  and  of  bad 
faith  to  the  Govern uient,  was,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Doliber,  indefinitely  post- 
poned by  a  vote  of  26  ayes  to  20  nays. 
The  Association  then  adjourned  until  Friday  morning. 
Sixth  Session,  Friday  Morning,  Sept.  lUh. 
Mr.  John  R.  Drake,  of  Milwaukee,  was  elected  Local  Secretary  for  the 
ensuing  year.    Two  candidates  for  membership  were  reported. 
Professor  Wheeler  read  a  paper  On  the  Citrate  of  Caffeinein  the  American 
Market.  Samples  from  three  manufacturers  could  only  be  procured,  and 
these  contained  respectively  63.5,  81.1,  and  96.58  per  cent,  of  caffeine  while 
according  to  calculation  the  three  possibly  existing  citrates  would  contain 
71.6,  67.1,  and  50.3  per  cent,  of  the  alkaloid.  A  microscopic  examination 
showed  the  three  commercial  citrates  to  be  simply  mixtures  of  caffeine  and 
citric  acid. 
A  paper  on  Petrolatum  in  the  Officinal  Ointments  by  Prof.  Remington  was 
read  (see  page  487),  and  somewhat  discussed  as  to  the  quality  of  commercial 
petrolatum,  and  the  difficulty  of  making  a  uniform  product  of  higher  melt- 
ing point  by  combining  it  with  hard  paraffin  ;  the  superiority  of  oleates  in- 
being  absorbed  was  likewise  referred  to.  Mr.  George  stated  that  ointments 
of  cantharides,  nutgalls,  belladonna,  and  others,  made  with  petrolatum  had 
been  found  to  be  far  inferior  to  those  made  with  lard.  Mr.  Eliel  referred 
especially  to  iodine,  which  develops  a  very  objectionable  odor  with  soft 
paraffin. 
Mr.  Cowdrey  read  a  paper  entitled  Who  is  responsible  for  adulteration  f 
The  writer  adopts  the  views  of  Judge  Cowing,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Illinois,  that  he  who  adulterates  should  be  i3Uiiished,  not  the  seller  ;  but  in 
the  opinion  by  Judge  Cowing  particular  stress  was  laid  upon  the  fact  of 
absence  of  criminal  intent  or  culpable  negligence  on  the  part  of  the  seller, 
and  that  in  the  case  cited  the  adulterated  article,  cream  of  tartar,  had  been 
bought  in  the  open  market,  the  highest  price  paid  for  it,  and  the  "best 
article  asked  for  "  ;  in  other  words,  the  druggist  had  been  cheated  by  the 
manufacturer,  upon  whose  integrity  he  relied. 
A  paper  by  Mr.  Wm.  M.  Thomson,  entitled  Laboratory  Notes,  described 
a  process  called  sectional  percolation  ;  the  apparatus  is  a  somewhat  conical 
percolator,  made  in  sections,  each  one  nearly  filled  with  moistened  powder; 
the  liquid  percolating  through  is  at  the  exit  from  each  section  distributed 
over  the  surface  of  the  contents  of  the  next  section,  the  aim  being  to  keep 
the  powder  covered  with  liquid.  The  author  has  made  serviceable  and 
durable  gaskets  by  forming  rubber  steam  hose  into  a  ring  of  suitable  size, 
and  compressing  this  gradually  until  flat. 
Mr.  Lloyd  likewise  uses  rubber  hose  for  similar  purposes,  but  does  not 
