56  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  {^""jln^'is^o.^""' 
constant  demand,  and  have  a  preparation  of  a  certain  definite  strength  and  character. 
Prof.  Maisch  hoped  that  Mr.  Fairthorne  would  extend  his  experiments  so  as  to 
ascertain  if  nitrite  of  amyl  might  not  also  be  prepared  by  a  process  somewhat 
similar,  as  it  has  been  shown  that  much  of  the  so-called  nitrite  of  amyl  was  a  mix- 
ture ot  many  things  besides  the  ether  intended  ;  he  also  pointed  out  certain  precau- 
tions which  might  possibly  have  to  be  taken  in  following  the  process. 
The  next  paper  was  by  Mr.  W.  C.  Bakes,  and  read  by  Prof.  Maisch  (see  page 
9).  The  subject  was  Mo/lisine,  a  substitute  for  vaselin  and  cosmolin,  etc.,  as  a 
base  for  ointments.  The  paper  was  well  received,  and,  on  motion,  referred  to  the 
Publishing  Committee. 
Prof.  Maisch  remarked  that  last  summer  he  had  seen,  at  Oil  City,  Pa.,  the  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  process  of  preparing  paraffin  and  paraffin  oils,  the  former  being 
separated  from  the  latter  by  congealing  it  in  an  apparatus  for  preparing  ice  by 
ammonia  and  removing  the  oil  by  pressure.  He  thought  that  if  the  oily  liquid  was 
again  exposed  to  a  low  temperature  and  then  expressed,  a  soft  paraffin  suitable  for 
the  purposes  of  the  pharmacist  might  be  obtained.  Mr.  Thompson  stated  that  he 
had  in  his  possession  a  specimen  of  a  purely  natural  product,  which  was  perfectly 
transparent,  jelly-like  and  of  a  dark  red  color;  it  was  obtained  from  West  Virginia 
The  researches  on  the  same  subject  by  Dr.  A.  W.  Miller  and  Mr.  J.  L.  Lemberger 
were  also  referred  to. 
A  paper  upon  the  presence  of  tannin  in  gentian  root  was  read  by  Prof.  Maisch  (see 
page  i),  who  gave  a  concise  statement  of  the  present  state  of  the  discussion,  and 
showed,  so  far  as  experiment  with  gentian  root  as  found  in  our  drug  market  could 
determine  it,  that  the  various  reactions  relied  upon  to  prove  that  tannin  did  exist  in 
the  root,  were  owing  to  a  pectin  compound  and  gentisic  acid,  which  have  somewhat 
similar  reactions  with  those  reagents  by  which  tannin  is  ordinarily  recognized. 
Prof.  Maisch  referred  to  a  prescription  calling  for  sulphate  of  strychnia,  gr.  i,  to 
be  dissolved  in  water,  fjii,  which  had  been  submitted  to  three  different  persons,  who 
found  the  salt  to  be  not  completely  soluble  in  that  amount  of  water.  He  said  that 
in  the  preparation  of  strychnia  on  a  large  scale  he  had  found  the  sulphate  to  be 
rather  freely  soluble  in  water,  but  had  never  determined  its  exact  solubility  in  water, 
which  was  stated  by  authors  to  be  i  in  48  or  50  parts.  Prof.  Remington  observed 
that  he  had  not  met  with  any  difficulty  in  dissolving  sulphate  of  strychnia  in  a  rela- 
tively small  amount  of  water;  and  a  member  stated  that  he  kept  on  hand,  for  con- 
venience in  dispensing,  a  solution  of  8  grains  of  sulphate  of  strychnia  in  a  fluidounce 
of  water.  From  these  observations  it  was  thought  likely  that  the  three  samples  of 
sulphate  of  strychnia  consisted  to  a  considerable  extent  of  the  alkaloid.  It  was 
stated  that  the  sulphate,  after  having  been  deprived  of  water  of  crystallization,  con- 
tained fully  10  per  cent,  of  its  weight  of  sulphuric  acid. 
There  being  no  further  business,  on  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 
Thos,  S.  Wiegand,  Registrar. 
