■^™Nov  ^18*83*™" }        British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  .^83 
resembled  "  spirit  of  nitrous  ether,"  and  the  same  remark  was  true  of 
a  mixture  of  the  two;  but  a  solution  of  paraldehyd  sufficiently  resembled 
it  to  raise  the  question  whether  the  aldehyd  was  not  present  in  the  pre- 
paration in  this  condensed  form,  its  action  being  perhaps  modified  by  tliat 
of  nitrous  ether. 
The  results  of  an  examination  of  some  Samples  of  Pitch  were  then  com- 
municated by  Mr.  E.  Davies,  with  a  table  of  their  composition,  from  which 
it  appeared  that  the  organic  matter  dissolved  by  petroleum  spirit  from 
samples  of  Trinidad  and  Syrian  pitch  contained  5  or  6  per  cent,  of  sulphur, 
a  much  higher  proportion  than  exists  in  any  known  vegetable  substance. 
The  President  took  the  opportunity  of  pointing  out  that  the  asphalt  used 
for  paving  purposes  contains  more  than  90  per  cent,  of  inorganic  matter 
and  is  incombustible. 
A  "  Contribution  to  the  Pharmacy  of  the  Pomegranate,^^  was  next  read 
by  Mr.  L.  Siebold,  in  which  a  preparation  was  described  which  consists 
essentially  of  a  solution  in  syrup  of  orange  peel  of  an  extract  made  from 
an  aqueous  infusion  of  the  powdered  root  bark  of  Punica  Oranatum,  which 
has  been  deprived  of  all  astringent  matter  by  treatment  with  sugar  of  lead. 
It  is  said  to  have  a  pleasant  fruity  flavor,  and  be  very  effective. 
The  subject  of  the  next  paper,  which  was  by  Mr.  Conroy,  was  a  sample 
of  spurious  scammony ,  which  appeared  to  consist  of  "  skillip  "  scammony 
and  upwards  of  83  per  cent,  of  the  resin  from  the  root. 
In  a  paper  on  ^^Aconitinefor  Internal  Administration^^ ^  Mr.  T.  B.  Groves 
refers  to  the  small  extent  to  which  medicine  has  up  to  the  present  time 
profited  by  the  researches  of  chemists  upon  the  aconite  alkaloids,  due,  no 
doubt,  mainly  to  the  uncertainty  arising  from  the  varying  nature  of  com- 
mercial "  aconitines."  He  recommends  that  any  person  setting  about  the 
preparation  of  aconitine  for  internal  administration  should  satisfy  himself 
that  the  roots  he  uses  are  the  product  of  A.  Napellus,  and  that  the  alkaloid 
should  be  separated  in  a  crystalline  condition,  an  operation  which  is  de- 
scribed as  requiring  ordinary  skill  helped  by  extraordinary  patience.  The 
nitrate  is  the  salt  most  ready  to  crystallize,  and  from  it  the  pure  alkaloid  or 
any  of  its  salts  can  be  prepared  without  difficulty. 
In  a  paper  on  the  "  Composition  of  Eaton^s  Syrup,^^  Messrs.  R.  H. 
Davies  and  E.  B.  Schmidt  reported  the  results  obtained  during  an  exami- 
nation of  several  samples  of  this  preparation.  It  was  found  that  they 
varied  widely  in  composition  among  one  another  and  from  a  sample  pre- 
pared according  to  Dr.  Eaton's  formula  the  strychnia,  for  instance,  ranging 
from  0*6  to  3  grains  per  four  fluid  ounces,  the  theoretical  quantity  being 
one  grain. 
In  an  interesting  paper  on  the  Odorous  Principle  of  Henbane,  Mr.  A.  W. 
Geriard  reported  that  he  has  succeded  in  separating  this  principle  as  a  pale 
yellow  unctuous  semi-crystalline  mass,  which  consists  probably  of  a  butyric 
ether.  Mr.  Gerrard  expresses  an  opinion  that  the  deposit  which  some- 
times forms  in  tincture  of  henbane  will  be  found  to  consist  of  a  mixture  of 
this  principle  and  chlorophyll. 
The  last  paper  read  was  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Barnes,  and  contained  Suggestions 
for  Combinations  of  Collodion,  in  which  a  number  of  instances  are  men- 
