AmkJa0rch,f9ho?.rm'}  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  155 
the  next  day.  Mr.  Boring  also  said  that  he  endeavored  to  keep  his 
ointments  in  a  cool  place  in  summer  and  that  he  did  not  experience 
much  difficulty  in  keeping  them.  Continuing  his  remarks,  Mr.  Bor- 
ing said  that  until  comparatively  recently  paraffin  had  not  been 
favorably  considered  as  a  basis  for  ointments  containing  active 
ingredients,  but  that  Wilbert  had  shown  that  by  incorporating  a 
considerable  portion  of  water  with  the  ointment  base  this  difficulty 
was  overcome.  This  point,  he  said,  took  his  memory  back  to  war 
times  when  the  Government  rejected  a  considerable  quantity  of 
paraffin  on  account  of  its  rancidity. 
Remarking  on  this  point,  Dr.  Alpers  said  that  of  course  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  a  much  purer  article  is  obtainable  now. 
With  regard  to  the  presence  of  borax  in  the  formula  proposed  by 
him,  Dr.  Alpers  said  it  was  desirable  to  retain  it,  as  it  assisted  in 
the  mixing  of  the  two  solutions  and  also  added  to  the  appearance 
of  the  finished  preparation. 
Mr.  Campbell  said  that  he  had  been  using  a  formula  somewhat 
similar  to  the  one  given  by  Mr.  Alpers  and  that  it  yielded  a  satis, 
factory  preparation. 
M.  I.  Wilbert  read  a  paper  on  "  Oxygenated  Petrolatum,"  and 
gave  a  practical  demonstration  of  its  mode  of  preparation.  In  the 
first  step  certain  proportions  of  paraffin  oil  and  oleic  acid  are  mixed 
together,  the  resultant  solution  being  of  a  cloudy  appearance; 
and  to  this,  spirit  of  ammonia  is  added  when  the  solution  clears  up. 
This  solution  acts  as  a  solvent  for  many  medicinal  substances  such 
as  camphor,  salol,  phenol,  creosote,  ichthyol,  etc.,  and  is  especially 
adapted  for  use  in  liniments.  It  furnishes  an  ideal  solvent  for  iodine, 
as  it  prevents  the  iodine  from  evaporating,  also  facilitates  its  absorp- 
tion, and  may  be  applied  several  times  a  day  without  producing 
blistering  effects. 
Replying  to  a  query  as  to  a  rise  of  temperature  when  iodine  is 
added  to  the  preparation,  Mr.  Wilbert  said  that  it  was  very  slight. 
A  very  interesting  and  suggestive  paper  on  "  Why  Do  Syrups 
Spoil?"  by  Alfred  I.  Cohn,  New  York  City,  was  presented  in  abstract 
on  behalf  of  the  author  by  Prof.  Henry  Kraemer  (see  page  1 19). 
The  next  speaker  introduced  was  Wm.  R.  Lamar,  of  New  York 
City,  who  read  a  paper  on  "  Assay  cf  Coca  "  (see  page  125). 
Prof.  Jos.  P.  Remington  said  that  he  was  pleased  that  Mr.  Lamar 
had  taken  up  this  subject,  as  the  Prrarmacopceial  Revision  Com- 
