260  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy.    {Am •££i3£rm 
Pharmacopoeia  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  and 
probably  also  as  he  had  touched  upon  the  subject  at  the  meeting  of 
the  New  Jersey  Pharmaceutical  Association  last  year  (see  page  227). 
In  discussing  the  paper,  Professor  Remington  said  that  he  had 
received  a  copy  of  the  same  communication,  and  that  it  appeared  to 
contain  a  misconception,  as  the  word  "  Barbados  "  does  not  appear 
in  either  the  official  definition  or  description  of  aloes.  He  said  that 
the  words  (Aloe  Barbadensis,  Aloe  Socotrina,  Pharm.,  1890)  are 
used  in  the  Eighth  Revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  merely  as  a 
synonym,  showing  what  varieties  of  aloes  were  official  in  the  1890 
edition.  He  then  went  on  to  say  that  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia, 
Eighth  Revision,  recognizes  every  variety  of  aloes  answering  the 
official  tests  for  identity  and  purity,  and  that  while  specifying  Aloe 
vera  as  one  of  the  plants  yielding  the  drug  it  does  not  specify  the 
geographical  source  of  the  drug. 
Professor  Kraemer  said  that  papers  of  this  kind  serve  the  pur- 
pose of  calling  attention  to  the  difficulties  which  are  experienced  in 
trying  to  harmonize  commercial  and  trade  names  with  the  scientific 
names  given  in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  that  in  the  next  revision  of 
the  Pharmacopoeia  the  commercial  varieties  should  be  given  in  con- 
nection with  the  definition.  Professor  Kraemer  then  said  that  there 
were  several  fine  specimens  of  aloes  plants  in  the  cactus  house  at 
Horticultural  Hall,  Fairmount  Park,  some  of  which  were  in  bloom, 
including  Aloe  vera,  and  he  also  called  attention  to  the  aloes  plants  in 
the  College  collection. 
In  bringing  the  dis'  ussion  to  a  close,  Mr.  .  .ser  said  that 
Aloe  vera,  w  ich  is  given  in  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  as  one  of  the 
plants  from  which  aloes  is  derived,  is  not  mentioned  by  the  other 
Pharmacopoeias,  while  other  species,  such  as  the  African,  are  recog- 
nized by  them  but  not  mentioned  in  our  own  Pharmacopoeia.  He 
held  that  the  paper  reflected  the  market  conditions  of  the  day. 
Prof.  Charles  H.  La  Wall  read  a  brief  paper  on  "  A  Method  for 
the  Detection  of  Small  Quantities  of  Capsicum  in  Ginger  Ale  and 
other  Preparations  of  Ginger"  (see  page  218).  In  replying  to  a 
question  Professor  LaWall  stated  that  all  of  the  samples  of  ginger 
ale  examined  by  him,  both  imported  and  domestic,  contained 
capsicum. 
Florence  Yaple, 
Secretary,  pro  tern. 
