524  Editorial.  {^"iov"x875""' 
presiding  officer  on  the  first  day  was  Dr.  C.  Schacht,  of  Berlin,  and  on  the  second 
day  Mr.  Wolfrum,  of  Augsburg.  The  invitation  from  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy  (see  page  375  of  our  August  number)  was  read,  and  a  hearty  welcome 
extended  to  Prof.  Perrenoud,  the  representative  of  the  Swiss  Apothecaries'  Society, 
after  which  the  annual  report  was  read  by  the  President.  The  report  states  the  num- 
ber of  members  to  be  2,736,  and  gives  an  account  of  the  transactions  of  the  execu- 
tive body,  called  Directory,  during  the  past  year. 
Professor  Reichart,  of  Jena,  delivered  a  discourse  on  the  bitter  principles  of 
plants,  and  Dr.  Ulex,  of  Hamburg,  on  mercantile  chemistry,  referring  to  the  potas- 
sium salts  of  Stassfurt,  Chili  saltpetre,  petroleum,  &c.;  to  the  exportation  and  impor- 
tation of  chemicals  at  Hamburg,  and  to  their  chemical  examination  by  the  appointed 
analysts  at  that  place. 
Dr.  Wilms,  of  Munster,  related  his  experience  with  the  preparation  of  cherry 
laurel  water  from  fresh  and  old  leaves ;  he  had  observed  a  reduced  yield  of  hydro- 
cyanic acid,  if  water  containing  bicarbonate  of  calcium  was  employed,  and  recom- 
mended not  to  use  pump-water  in  making  this  preparation. 
Prof.  Perrenoud  spoke  on  salicylic  acid,  cinnamic  acid,  bergapten,  metanethol 
camphor,  and  on  some  Investigations  with  the  view  of  separating  poisonous  alka- 
loids from  the  intestines. 
Dr.  Brackebusch  discoursed  on  modern  chemistry  and  its  relations  to  pharmacy. 
Mr.  Pusch,  of  Dessau,  entered  into  a  discussion  of  the  question  whether  carbonic 
oxide  gas  alone  Is  the  poisonous  agent  in  the  gases  resulting  from  the  combustion  of 
coal  and  In  illuminating  gas ;  his  Investigations,  and  a  review  of  the  literature  on 
this  subject  lead  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  dangerous  effects  of  the  former  are 
mainly  due  to  carbonic  acid,  and  with  the  latter  to  carburetted  hydrogen. 
Among  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  Society  were  the  following: 
In  favor  of  permitting  proprietors  who  employ  no  assistants  to  take  apprentices} 
Requesting  the  appointment  of  an  apothecary  as  a  full  mem.ber  of  the  corhmls- 
missions  entrusted  with  the  Inspection  of  pharmacies  j  and  that  his  compensation 
be  the  same  as  that  of  the  medical  councillors; 
Favoring  some  modification  of  the  imperial  decree  of  January  4th,  1875,  relative 
to  the  trade  In  medicinal  substances. 
Mr.  Dankwortt  reported  on  the  prize-essays  of  the  Hagen-Bucholz  and  Meurer 
funds.  The  question  of  the  former.  Intended  for  assistants,  contemplated  to  deter- 
mine the  nature  of  the  chlorine  compounds  in  bleaching  solutions,  and  received  two 
answers  ;  that  of  the  latter  required  the  determination  of  the  average  yield  of  twelve 
extracts  officinal  in  the  German  "Pharmacopoeia,"  and  was  answered  by  ten  appren- 
tices. 
The  next  meeting  will  take  place  in  the  city  of  Stuttgart. 
EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT. 
A  Dangerous  Explosion  in  making  Phosphoric  Acid. — After  our  October 
number  had  been  printed,  a  serious  accident  occurred  to  Dr.  W.  H.  Pile  In  pre- 
paring phosphoric  acid  by  the  process  recommended  by  Professor  Markoe,  and  we 
