Amju°n"?if92arm-} Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  329 
present  day,  and  the  leek  bears  its  Egyptian  name  "Khorat."  The  bulbs  of 
Allium  Nuttalli,  Watson,  are  eaten  by  the  Indians  and  settlers  in  Arizona. 
The  cultivation  of  the  onion  is  one  of  the  most  important  in  Bolivia,  and 
garlic  is  also  common. 
One  of  the  most  curious  applications  of  alliaceous  plants,  is  that  of  the 
bruised  bulbs  of  garlic  or  onions,  and  Asphodelus  bulbosus,  mixed  with  gun- 
powder, to  prevent  the  hair  falling  off,  in  Oriental  countries.  Garlic  is  eaten 
to  a  much  greater  extent  than  the  onion  by  the  natives  of  India,  the  aggregated 
white  bulb,  or  cloves,  being  offered  for  sale  in  every  bazar. 
It  was  formerly  held  in  great  repute  in  medicine,  but  is  seldom  employed  in 
England,  although  used  in  the  United  States.  The  bulbs  of  garlic  have  been 
used  in  dropsies,  and  as  an  anthelmintic.  Steeped  in  rum  they  form  a  favorite 
remedy  among  country  people  for  the  whooping  cough  ;  the  infusion  is  rubbed 
night  and  morning  into  the  skin  of  the  patient's  loins.  A  clove  of  garlic,  or  a 
few  drops  of  the  juice,  introduced  into  the  ear  are  said  to  prove  highly  effica- 
cious in  atonic  deafness. 
A  considerable  demand  has  sprung  up  lately  for  garlic  oil  for  pickles,  sauces, 
etc.  It  is  a  clear,  limpid  oil,  useful  for  flavoring  in  cookery,  but  not  made  to 
any  extent.  Sp.  gr.  ro57.  The  yield  is  i  kilo  of  oil  from  1,600  kilos  of 
bulbs. 
[To  be  continued?\ 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  April  26,  1892. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  and  Charles  A.  Heinitsh  was  asked  to  pre- 
side. 
The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and  approved. 
Mr.  Summers,  who  had  consented  to  give  at  this  meeting  some  account  of 
his  recent  trip  to  Bermuda  and  the  West  Indies,  was  unavoidably  absent,  and 
the  subject  was  postponed  to  the  fall  term. 
Dr.  C.  B.  Lowe,  being  too  unwell  to  be  present,  sent  a  specimen  of  a  hard 
rubber  spatula  to  take  the  place  of  the  clumsy  horn  implements  that  have 
been  used  in  cases  where  metallic  spatulas  were  undesirable.  The  neatness  of 
the  article  met  with  general  approval. 
Prof.  Maisch  stated  that  Mr.  A.  B.  Petrie,  of  Canada,  in  a  note  to  him 
described  a  novel  adulteration  in  gum  arable,  consisting  of  fragments  of  rock 
salt.  This  elicited  a  discussion  upon  the  present  source  of  the  gum  arabic  now 
in  the  market ;  the  supply  from  the  Kordofan  district  being  shut  off,  our  sup- 
ply must  now  be  obtained  from  points  further  east,  nearer  the  Red  Sea.  It 
was  stated  that  some  of  that  now  sold  as  gum  arabic  is  gum  Senegal  which  has 
been  exposed  to  a  heat  sufficiently  high  to  render  it  full  of  cracks  and  thus 
give  it  a  greater  likeness  to  true  gum  arabic. 
Mr.  Beringer  read  a  paper  upon  commercial  vanillas  and  accompanied  it 
with  samples  of  the  various  kinds  now  found  in  commerce.  The  paper  was 
referred  to  the  publication  committee,  and  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  were 
returned  to  the  author. 
Mr.  Beringer  exhibited  a  plant  press  suitable  for  the  use  of  those  who  go  out 
