Am,octu!"iSiarm'}    British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  541 
lized,  B.  P.,  or  precipitated,  and  compared  them  with  an  experimental  one  pre- 
pared by  himself,  according  to  the  official  process,  from  chemicals  of  commer- 
cial quality.  The  results  arrived  at  show  that  the  valerianate  of  zinc  used  in 
medicine  is  not  of  uniform  composition  and  does  not  meet  the  official  require- 
ments, the  precipitated  varieties  being  worst  in  this  respect ;  further,  that  the 
valerianic  acid  used  in  the  process  of  manufacture  is  prepared  from  an  imper- 
fectly purified  fusel  oil.  It  is  suggested  that  the  present  Pharmacopceial  test 
might  well  be  amended  to  the  extent  of  specifying  the  percentage  of  residue  that 
should  be  left  on  ignition  of  the  salt  after  being  moistened  with  nitric  acid, 
and  26  per  cent,  is  proposed  as  the  minimum.  Mr.  Hodgkin  said  that  in 
regard  to  each  article,  their  relative  purity  is  entirely  a  matter  of  price,  and  it 
was  generally  agreed  that  more  thorough  definition  of  the  acid  in  valerianate 
of  zinc  was  desirable. 
Animal  Charcoal. — Mr.  J.  Hodgkin's  paper  on  Carbo  Animalis  Purificatus  is 
a  brilliant  example  of  the  manner  in  which  even  apparently  simple  matters 
should  be  dealt  with.  In  a  most  thoroughly  practical  paper  he  shows  that  it 
is  impossible  to  prepare  this  substance  so  that  the  pharmacopceial  requirements 
may  be  met,  and  that,  were  this  hypothetical  preparation  of  the  B.  P.  in  exist- 
ence, it  would  be  useless  as  well  as  costly.  Mr.  Hodgkin  gives  detailed 
instructions  for  the  preparation  of  a  good  purified  animal  charcoal,  and  his 
paper  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  what  reports  of  such  investigations  should  be. 
The  President  and  Mr.  Tyrer  confirmed  the  statement  as  to  the  difficulty  of 
supplying  the  B.  P.  preparation. 
Strychnine  Salts. — Mr.  D.  B.  Dott  has  confirmed  the  results  obtained  by  Mr. 
G.  Coull  in  investigating  the  solubility  of  strychnine  acid  sulphate,  and  he 
emphasized  the  unsuitability  of  this  salt  for  the  preparation  of  hypodermic 
injections.  He  finds,  too,  that  the  neutral  tartrate  is  but  little  better  as  regards 
solubility.  The  tribasic  citrate  is  more  soluble  (1  in  37),  and  the  hydrochloride 
still  better  (1  in  35 '51.  The  conclusion  drawn  is,  that,  giving  due  regard  to 
solubility,  stability  and  neutrality,  the  latter  is  the  best  and  most  useful  salt  of 
strychnine  for  pharmaceutical  purposes. 
Encalyptol. — Mr.  R.  H.  Davies  gave  the  results  of  the  supplementary  inves- 
tigation conducted  by  himself  and  Mr.  T.  H.  Pearmain  in  connection  with 
eucalyptol  from  eucalyptus  oils.  They  have  obtained  what  they  regard  as  a 
practical^  pure  product,  and  are  inclined  to  consider  that  it  should  be  free 
from  any  characteristic  odor  and  possess  no  rotary  power. 
At  the  close  of  the  business  proceedings  on  Tuesday  the  members  were  con- 
veyed in  carriages  to  Rosslyn  to  visit  the  celebrated  chapel,  and  after  partaking 
of  tea  at  the  adjoining  hotel  they  returned  to  Edinburgh. 
In  the  evening  the  President  of  the  Conference  and  those  officially  con- 
nected with  it  and  with  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  were  entertained  at  dinner 
by  the  Chairman  and  Vice-Chairman  of  the  Local  Committee,  and  a  very 
pleasant  evening  was  passed. 
Ointment  of  Red  Oxide  of  Mercury. — In  a  note  upon  this  ointment,  Mr. 
F.  Davis  suggested  that  the  frequently  lumpy  condition  of  this  ointment  is 
probably  the  result  of  a  separation  of  the  hard  paraffin  in  consequence  of  too 
rapid  cooling  in  its  preparation,  and  that  the  Pharmacopoeia  direction  to  "mix 
the  whole  thoroughly"  is  not  sufficiently  explicit.  He,  therefore,  recom- 
mends that  the  vessel  in  which  the  ointment  is  made  should  be  placed  in  warm 
