490 
AMERICAN  PHARMACEUTICAL  ASSOCIATION. 
[The  following  are  the  leading  points  in  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Sharp.  He 
finds  but  little  regard  is  paid  to  the  officinal  strength  of  acids  and  alcohol 
by  the  manufacturers,  and  infers  the  absolute  impossibility  that  it  presents 
to  carrying  out  to  the  letter  the  processes  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  where 
they  are  used.  He  has  not  been  able  to  find  pure  muriatic  acid  of  greater 
strength  than  1.120  to  1.130,  whilst  the  Pharmacopoeia  requires  it  to  be 
1-160.  Common  nitric  acid  he  finds  not  to  exceed  1.40,  and  the  "  medici- 
nal acid"  often  not  stronger  than  1.34,  and  the  strongest  he  has  ever  ob- 
tained is  1.370,  whilst  the  officinal  strength  is  1.42,  and  several  of  the  pro- 
cesses are  based  on  the  use  of  an  acid  of  that  strength.  He  attributes  the 
difficulty  in  preparing  the  tincture  of  chloride  of  iron  and  the  solution  of 
nitrate  of  iron  to  this  cause — a  deficiency  of  acid ;  and  observes  that 
either  the  Pharmacopoeia  should  be  altered,  or  that  pharmaceutists  should 
insist  on  their  having  their  acids  made  of  the  proper  officinal  specific  gra- 
vity. 
Mr.  Sharp  then  directed  attention  to  alcohol.  The  Pharmacopoeia  re- 
quires it  to  have  the  specific  gravity  .835  or  85  per  cent  of  absolute  alco- 
hol by  weight.  He  knows  of  but  two  kinds  in  commerce,  80  and  95  per 
cent ;  the  latter  a  mere  name  only.  The  strength  of  alcohol  appears  to 
depend  on  the  locality  of  its  manufacture.  Ninety-eight  per  cent  in  Cin- 
cinnati, is  ninety-five  per  cent  in  New  York,  and  eighty-eight  to  eighty- 
nine  in  Baltimore,  which  is  owing  to  the  instruments  used  at  these  places 
varying  in  the  principle  of  their  graduation.  These  instruments  are  in- 
tended for  testing  spirits  from  1st  to  4th  proof,  and  attention  has  not  been 
given  to  the  greut  variation  of  the  expansion  of  alcohol  as  the  strength  in- 
creases. Mr,  Sharp  illustrated  the  latter  fact  by  an  occurrence  in  Balti- 
more, where  alcohol  warranted  to  be  95  per  cent  proved  to  be  but  89  per 
cent,  when  tested  by  the  specific  gravity  bottle  and  a  delicate  balance  ; 
the  party  who  held  it  not  being  convinced  until  he  found  that  his  instru- 
ment sunk  in  some  alcohol  of  really  96  per  cent,  beyond  the  lOOih  degree. 
Alcoholnieters  also  differ  from  the  fact  that  some  are  intended  to  indi- 
cate the  per  centage  of  alcohol  by  weight,  and  the  others  by  measure, 
which  of  course  makes  a  considerable  difference  in  the  scales.  Mr.  Sharp 
finds  the  hydrometers  inclosing  a  thermometer  as  made  by  Luhme  &  Co. 
of  Berlin,  are  very  reliable  instruments. — Editor.] 
A.  E.  Richards,  of  Plaqucmin,  Louisiana,  having  been  pre- 
viously elected  a  correspondent,  became  a  member  by  coming 
forward  and  sumine:  the  Constitution. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  to  audit  t&e  Treasurer's  account 
was  then  taken  up  and  accepted. 
The  report  of  the  Executive  Committee  was  again  called  up, 
read  and  accepted,  and  was  ordered  to  be  published  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings. 
