JO  EDITORIAL. 
editorial  ^Department. 
Pharmaceutical  Meetings  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
— At  the  request  of  the  Register,  Samuel  S.  Garrigues,  we  take  this  means 
of  informing  the  members  and  graduates  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of^ 
Pharmacy,  that  these  meetings  are  held  at  the  College  Hall,  Zane  st.,  above 
7th,  on  the  first  Monday  of  every  month,  from  October  to  May  inclusive. 
All  members  who  would  like  it,  will  be  notified  regularly  of  the  time  of  meet- 
ing by  sending  their  names  to  the  Register,  (N.  E.  cor.  10th  and  Coates  sts.\, 
with  such  a  request.  As  these  meetings  are  devoted  entirely  to  scientific  and 
other  subjects  of  interest  to  apothecaries  and  .druggists  generally,  and  are 
conducted  in  an  informal,  conversational  manner,  all  may  take  part.  Gradu- 
ates, who  are  not  members,  are  at  liberty  to  attend  and  partake  in  the  dis- 
cussions, and  members  are  invited  to  bring  any  specimens  of  drugs,  chemi- 
cals, preparations  or  papers  of  interest. 
Thayer's  Fluid  Extracts. — We  are  indebted  to  Messrs.  Henry  Thayer 
&  Co.,  of  Cambridgeport,  Massachusetts,  for  some  fifteen  samples  of  the 
fluid  extracts  prepared  by  them.  A  peculiarity  of  these  extracts  is  that  they 
all  contain  about  20  per  cent,  of  alcohol,  as  the  means  of  preservation, 
whether  made  with  that  menstruum  or  not.  In  those  cases  where  the  nature 
of  the  drug  is  resinous  or  oily,  the  proportion  of  alcohol  is  increased  as  far 
as  is  proper,  to  secure  the  solution  of  these  bodies.  They  may  therefore  be 
looked  upon  as  concentrated  tinctures,  with  about  half  the  usual  proportion 
of  alcohol  found  in  that  class  of  medicines.  In  the  preparation  of  these 
fluid  extracts,  Dr.  Thayer  uses  the  process  of  displacement  and  the  vacuum 
pan.  In  those  cases  where  the  alcohol  present  is  an  obstacle  to  their  use, 
the  honest  answer  is,  employ  other  non-alcoholic  preparations,  but  in  a  very 
large  number  of  cases  the  small  quantity  of  alcohol  contained  in  them  in 
their  concentrated  state  is  so  insignificant  that  it  may  be  overlooked.  In 
strength  they  generally  conform  to  the  published  recipes,  and  are  more  per- 
manent than  the  saccharine  fluid  extracts,  especially  in  cases  where  the  ac- 
tive ingredients  are  insoluble  or  but  partially  soluble  in  a  saccharine  aqueous 
menstruum.  We  have  only  had  leisure  to  examine  a  few  of  the  samples, 
as  those  of  Conium,  Senna  and  Buchu,  and  have  been  very  favorably  im- 
pressed in  regard  to  their  efficiency:  The  Conium  retains  the  natural  odor 
of  the  dried  leaves  to  a  marked  degree.  The  Senna  is  made  with  water,  and 
after  evaporation,  sufficient  alcohol  added  to  preserve  it.  A  medical  friend, 
to  whom  we  gave  a  portion,  speaks  of  its  efficiency  as  a  cathartic,  but  says 
its  action  was  attended  with  some  griping.    This  probably  arises  from  the 
