488 
British  Conference. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharos, 
(     October,  1909. 
(hesperetic)  acid,  3-hydroxy-4-methoxy  cinnamic  acid  (m.p. 
2280  C).  Sugar,  tannin,  and  a  crystalline  substance  (m.p.  1530  C.) 
were  also  found.  The  petroleum-ether  treatment  yielded  phytosterol, 
palmitic  acid,  and  liquid  fatty  acids  containing  oleic  and  other  unsat- 
urated acids.  Treatment  with  the  ethereal  solution  gave  a  colorless 
crystalline  substance;  and  two  crystalline  substances  were  isolated 
from  the  chloroformic  solution.  A  trace  of  an  alkaloidal  body  was 
discovered.  The  specimen  of  "  racemosin  "  in  the  museum  of  the 
Pharmaceutical  Society  has  been  examined  and  found  to  correspond 
with  the  chloroformic  extract  obtained  by  the  author. 
Commercial  Emulsions. 
By  E.  W.  Pollard. 
The  author  spoke  of  the  different  methods  of  analysis  and  gave 
the  results  of  working  with  a  method  of  his  own  for  the  assay  of 
the  percentage  of  oil  in  samples  of  emulsion.  He  defines  a  good 
emulsion  as  being  no  more  viscous  than  glycerin,  it  should  throw 
down  no  precipitate  on  being  diluted,  and  the  oil  globules  should 
not  exceed  15^. 
Should  the  Dispensing  of  Medical  Prescriptions  be  Exclu- 
sively Confined  to  Pharmacists? 
By  James  Fowler  Tocher. 
According  to  the  author  the  great  grievance  which  the  pharma- 
cists of  England  have  above  all  others  is  the  fact  that  while  they  are 
specially  educated  and  trained  to  do  so,  most  of  the  dispensing  of 
prescriptions  is  done  by  the  medical  profession.  He  says  that  it 
must  be  recognized  that  it  has  been  the  practice  for  many  years 
for  doctors  to  supply  their  own  physic,  yet,  as  they  have  no  practical 
training  to  speak  of  in  pharmacy,  he  must  answer  the  above  question 
in  the  affirmative.  The  absolute  transference  of  the  dispensing  of 
medicine  from  medical  men  to  pharmacists  would,  in  his  opinion, 
be  accompanied  with  advantages  to  the  doctor,  the  pharmacist,  and 
the  public,  although  in  remote  rural  districts  it  would  be  advanta- 
geous to  the  patient  for  the  physician  to  dispense  the  remedies 
required.  The  dispensing  practitioner,  he  says,  is  both  a  trader  and 
a  professional  man.  He  ceases  to  be  a  trader  the  moment  he  stops 
selling  medicine.    The  origin,  properties,  preparation,  and  dispens- 
