^"'Deri8^75^'"'}  ^^n^fe^  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  569 
from  which  it  separates  unchanged.  No  compound  was  obtained  corresponding  with 
dinitrotyrosin  or  nitrotyrosin  nitrate.  Ratanhin  is  distinguished  from  tyrosin  by  its 
reaction  with  nitric  acid,  which,  on  saturating  the  crystals  with  a  small  amount  of 
water,  cautiously  dropping  nitric  acid  into  the  mixture  so  that  some  of  the  original 
crystals  remain  undissolved,  and  heating  the  solution,  changes  to  red,  passing  to 
blue,  and  finally  to  green,  at  which  stage  it  gives  red  fluorescence.  Like  tyrosin,  it 
forms  an  additional  product  with  bromine. — Joiirn.  Chem.  Soc,  October,  1875,  from 
Ann  der  Chemie^  clxxvi,  64. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING, 
The  second  meeting  of  the  session  was  held  November  i6th,  1875,  I^^*-  ^ - 
Pile  in  the  chair.    Members  present,  75.    The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were 
approved. 
Professor  Maisch  made  the  following  donations  to  the  museum  :  Lechea  major, 
Michaux  (Pinweed)  ;  nat.  ord.,  Cistacese,  used  in  the  neighborhood  of  Danville,  Va., 
for  chills  and  fever,  and  as  a  tonic.  From  Powers  &  Weightman,  Rose-flowers, 
from  the  East  Indies  ;  a  pale  variety,  having  a  fine  odor.  From  Walter  A.  Taylor, 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  a  cotton-plant  in  fruit,  showing  the  cotton.  From  Francis  Murray, 
Key  West,  Florida,  Aga^e  americana^  the  unfolded  leaves  and  a  portion  of  the 
flower  stem  5  it  has  been  introduced  from  Mexico,  and  flowers  at  Key  West  in  the 
open  air  in  from  three  to  four  years,  but  in  this  climate  it  requires  careful  nursing, 
and  flowers  usually  after  50  to  60  years.  Attention  was  called  to  the  proportion- 
ally small  size  of  the  roots  j  accompanying  were  several  small  plants  for  distribution  . 
From  Frederickson  &  Harte,  New  Orleans,  specimens  of  the  rice-plant  in  fruit. 
From  Whitall,  Tatum  &  Co.,  a  set  of  thirty  lettered  Reagent  Bottles.  These  bot- 
tles have  the  chemical  names  and  formulas  distinctly  blown  in  the  glass.  From 
Mr.  Atwater,  representing  the  same  firm,  a  specimen  of  amber-yellow  glass  pre- 
scription ware,  recommended  for  such  preparations  as  are  sensitive  to  the  light, 
Hans  M.  Wilder  had  called  attention  to  the  "Danish  Pharmacopoeia  "  directing 
such  glass  to  be  thus  used.  The  color  is  given  to  the  glass  in  Europe,  by  the  ad- 
dition of  straw  or  cow-dung,  or,  in  this  country,  of  finely-sifted  coke.  Mr.  Bullock 
stated  it  was  no  doubt  effected  through  the  agency  of  the  protoxide  of  iron,  the 
carbon  preventing  the  formation  of  the  green  color  due  to  ferric  oxide.  The  color 
differs  very  much  from  the  canary-yellow  with  a  greenish  tint,  produced  by  uranium, 
Mr.  Bullock  presented  from  the  Pennsylvania  Salt  Company  a  handsome  pseudo- 
morphous  specimen  of  bicarbonate  of  soda,  prepared  from  carbonate  of  soda. 
On  motion,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  to  these  donors. 
Dr.  W.  H.  Pile  read  a  paper  entitled,  "  Notes  on  dilute  phosphoric  acid  "  (see 
page  529).  Prof.  Maisch  inquired  whether  the  acid  thus  obtained  had  been  ex- 
amined for  ammonia,  and  how  much  it  contained.  Since  1858,  a  number  of  ex- 
periments were  made  by  Scheurer-Kestner,  Ordway  and  other  chemists,  with  the 
view  of  observing  the  action  of  metals  upon  nitric  acid,  and  the  result  appeared  to 
