AMERICAN  PHARMACEUTICAL  ASSOCIATION. 
497 
15th.  On  what  proximate  principle  does  the  anthelmintic  power 
of  spigelia  depend,  is  it  volatile,  and  is  the  odor  of  the  drug 
a  good  criterion  of  its  quality  ;  is  said  principle  soluble  in  water  ; 
and  what  effect  have  the  carbonated  alkalies  upon  it? 
Accepted  by  Richard  H.  Stabler, M.  D.,  Alexandria,  Va. 
16th.  Dr.  Wright,  of  Kentucky,  has  recently  recommended 
the  bark  of  Liquidambar  styraciflua,  as  a  remedy  in  diarrhoea  and 
dysentery,  made  into  a  syrup  with  cold  water,  (see  Amer.  Jour. 
Pharm.  vol.  xxviii,  Sept.)  He  likewise  states  that  the  resinous 
exudation  which  this  tree  produces  at  the  South,  is  obtainable 
by  incision  from  the  tree  in  the  States  bordering  on  the  Ohio, 
and  that  the  Kentucky  product  contains  benzoic  acid  and  styra- 
cin.  It  is  desirable  to  have  the  latter  statement  corroborated  ; 
and  if  verified,  the  percentage  of  benzoic  acid  that  it  will  yield, 
and  the  practicability  of  obtaining  it,  as  an  article  of  commerce  ? 
Accepted  by  Valentine  Harbaugh,  of  Washington,  D.  0. 
17th.  To  what  extent  is  the  fecula  of  the  Maranta  arundina- 
cea  produced  in  the  States  of  Georgia  and  Florida,  and  what  im- 
pediments prevent  its  being  made  to  rival  that  of  Bermuda,  in 
beauty  and  excellence  ? 
Suggested  to  Robert  Battey,  of  Rome,  Georgia. 
18th.  What  are  the  most  approved  methods  of  rendering  medi- 
cines palatable  to  the  taste  and  pleasing  to  the  eye  ? 
Accepted  by  Frederick  Stearns,  of  Detroit. 
19th.  What  are  the  present  sources  of  senega,  serpentaria, 
spigelia,  and  other  prominent  American  roots,  etc.,  as  supplied 
in  commerce? 
Accepted  by  Prof  C.  B.  Guthrie,  of  New  York. 
The  period  for  scientific  communications  having  arrived,  S. 
S.  Garrigues  directed  the  attention  of  the  members  to  a  variety 
of  specimens  on  the  table  ;  among  them  were  ping war- at-zumbi 
a  species  of  lichen  from  Japan,  used  as  a  means  of  stopping 
haemorrhage  ;  a  fine  specimen  of  hippuric  acid,  a  variety  of 
specimens  of  the  cobalt-ammonia  series  of  Professors  Genth  and 
Gibbs,  and  several  other  substances. 
Mr.  Garrigues  also  read  a  critical  paper  on  the  narcotic  vege- 
32 
