522        Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations,  {^"'rSov'^sy^s'"'"'' 
drous  state)  isomeric  with  it,  whilst  nataloin  is  widely  separated  from  the  other  crys- 
talline principles. 
The  possible  application  of  salicylic  acid  in  pharmacy  was  the  subject  of  a  paper 
by  Mr.  Benger.  A  number  of  pharmaceutical  preparations  were  exhibited,  all  of 
them  more  or  less  prone  to  decomposition.  Many  of  them  which  contained  from  \ 
to  ^  a  grain  of  salicylic  acid  to  the  ounce  appeared  perfectly  good,  although  they 
had  been  prepared  about  four  months.  The  freshly  expressed  juice  of  conium,  hyos- 
cyamus  and  taraxacum  proved  to  be  exceptional  in  this  respect.  Some  experiments 
with  albumen  had  shown  that  salicylic  acid  does  not  prevent  and  only  slightly  retards- 
the  action  of  pepsin.  In  the  discussion  which  followed,  the  antiseptic  properties  of 
boracic  and  benzoic  acids  were  referred  to. 
"  In  a  report  upon  the  magnesium  carbonates  of  commerce,  Mr.  Thresh  stated 
that  the  semi-ponderous  variety  appeared  to  be  seldom  met  with  in  this  country,  that 
the  heavy  carbonates  are  as  a  rule  satisfactory,  but  that  much  larger  proportions  of 
soluble  salts  were  found  in  the  light  carbonates. 
"  Mr.  Umney  continued  his  valuable  series  of  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of 
the  'Pharmacopoeia'  by  advocating  the  substitution  of  the  present  official  amor- 
phous citrate  of  lithium  by  the  crystals,  which  he  stated  were  not  deliquescent.  In, 
this  he  was  confirmed  by  Mr.  Williams,  and  Professor  Redwood  expressed  his  grat- 
ification that  manufacturers  now  admitted  that  a  permanent  crystalline  citrate  of 
lithium  could  be  prepared. 
"  The  first  day's  sitting  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  reading  of  a  paper  on  the 
cultivation  of  saffron  in  the  Abruzzi,  by  Mr.  Henry  Groves,  of  Florence.  The 
great  fluctuation  of  the  gatherings  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  one  year's 
harvest  has  sometimes  surpassed  in  value  the  soil  in  which  it  was  grown,  while  in. 
other  years  it  is  almost  a  failure. 
"  On  Wednesday  morning,  after  the  election  of  several  members,  the  President 
read  a  paper  describing  a  curious  and  rapid  formation  of  herepathit  in  a  mixture 
containing  sulphate  of  quinia,  iodide  of  potassium  and  chloroform  water.  He  was 
unable  to  suggest  any  explanation  of  the  reaction  except  that  it  might  have  been 
caused  by  an  impurity  in  the  chloroform,  nor  was  it  accounted  for  by  any  person 
who  took  part  in  the  discussion. 
"  Mr.  Kingzett  furnished  a  further  contribution  to  the  history  of  essential  oils> 
and  although  the  principal  object  of  his  research  was  a  chemical  one,  it  will  prob- 
ably eventuate  in  rendering  a  service  to  pharmacy.  Of  a  like  nature  was  a  paper 
by  Messrs.  Beckett  and  Wright  on  the  camphor  of  Japanese  oil  of  peppermint. 
"  Mr.  Gerrard  presented  a  report  on  Jaborandi,  in  which  he  described  his  chem- 
ical investigation  of  the  plant,  from  which  he  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  con- 
tains one  well-marked  alkaloid,  non-crystalline  but  forming  crystalline  salts,  possibly 
a  second  alkaloid  forming  acid  salts,  an  aromatic  essential  oil  solid  at  ordinary  tem- 
perature, tannic  acid,  a  peculiar  volatile  acid,  and  chloride  of  potassium. 
"The  reading  of  a  paper  entitled  *  The  Horsley-Stoddart  Method  of  Estimating 
Fat  in  Milk,'  by  Mr.  A.  H.  Allen,  led  to  a  lively  but  rather  personal  discussion. 
Irrespective  of  this  unpleasant  feature,  it  is  pretty  evident  that  if  the  field  of  the 
Conference  be  widened  so  as  to  include  then  umerous  extra-pharmaceutical  subjects 
which  are  at  present  bones  of  contention  amongst  public  analysts,  it  will  become 
