q. s.

Glycerine...... Dissolve the Heroin in the Fluidextract White Pine by gentle heat and add a portion of the Glycerin, dissolve the Ammon. salt in the Sol. Tolu, with heat, mix with remainder of Glycerine. Mix the two solutions, add the Fluidextract Henbane, stir well.

Continuing his remarks Mr. Mills spoke of the official Elixir of Iron, Quinine and Strychnine and suggested improvements in the formula. First, to acidify the Elixir before mixing with alcoholic solution of the alkaloids. Second, to dissolve the Iron Phosphates without heat. Third, to replace the Acetic Acid with one-half amount of Lactic Acid. The speaker showed samples of this preparation which were of a bright color and of fine appearance. He made these suggestions to the Revision Committee but was not prepared to recommend the formula except tentatively as it had not yet been fully tried out.

Prof. Hallberg reported for the Committee on Medical Relations, referring to the fact that there was still seven district medical societies to which the Declaration on Prescriptions had not as yet been presented and that it was proposed to reach these medical societies during the coming winter. At these meetings the local pharmacists will be invited to discuss with their local physicians their attitude to the prescription and such other subjects as may be of mutual interest. It is expected that these meetings may be held jointly with those arranged by the Committee on Nostrums of the Chicago Medical Society. The interest of the medical profession in pharmacy is shown by the announcement recently issued by the committee on the Pharmacopoeia of the A. M. A. of which Dr. Reid Hunt, of Washington, D. C., is chairman.

The work of the A. Ph. A. committees on Revision of the U. S. P. and the N. F., as considered at the annual meeting was reported and the suggestion made that these reports afford ample material for discussion for the branch meetings for the entire season.

These resolutions pertaining to advertisements of fraudulent medicines in the newspapers and also that protesting against the illegitimate sale of liquors by druggists in prohibition districts, were discussed. Chairman Wooten, of the committee on Public Relations, was instructed to present the cause of the members and other reputable pharmacists to the newspapers

that they become familiar with our attitude and to give such publicity when possible.

The discussion followed regarding the program for the winter's meetings. Mr. Eliel suggested that so far as possible the program should be announced some time in advance for the benefit of the members who come from a distance and were not able to attend every evening.

Prof. Oldberg discussed the arrangement of programs for the coming meetings and it was moved that the officers present at the next meeting a tenative program for the whole season. This motion was carried. President Oldberg referred to the need of a larger membership and urged the members to exert themselves to bring in new members and extend the usefulness of the branch. His appeal was warmly re sponded to and many of those present agreed to bring in applications for one or two members for the next meeting.

Prof. Hallberg spoke of the desirability of securing a larger representation of prescription statistics from Chicago druggists. There should be not less than 50,000 prescriptions tabulated from Chicago and so far only a few thousand have been received.

Discussion then ensued regarding the place of the next annual meeting of the association, participated in by President Oldberg, Messrs. Eliel, Hallberg, Wooten and Potts. Mr. Wooten offered the following resolutions which were adopted:

WHEREAS, It is our confident belief that the best interests of the pharmacists of America, as a whole, will be served by the two great national organizations representing the several branches of the drug business, holding their meetings at the same place and practically at the same time; therefore, by the Chicago Branch of the American Pharmaceutical Association be it Resolved, That the president of the association is instructed to appoint a committee of three members to attend the next meeting of the Chicago Retail Druggists' Association for the purpose of securing from that body the adoption of a resolution endorsing the holding of the conventions of the two national associations contemporaneously, it being our conviction that if the druggists of Chicago unitedly advocate the holding of concurrent meetings of the American Pharmaceutical Association and the National Association of Retail Druggists as nearly as may be possible, a long step in the direction of accomplishing this desirable object will have been taken.

President Yeomans, of the City Association, spoke of the deception practised upon the druggis s by dealers in certain "tonics" which were but thinly-veiled substitutes for beer.

Mr. Eysenbach announced that a company had been formed to engage in the cultivation of medicinal plants in the Kankakee Valley. Mr. Eliel made an interesting talk regarding the cultivation of golden seal which he said was carried on in several places in St. Joseph County, Ind.

The secretary reported the applications of six new members.

The attendance was fairly good, comprising six officers of the A. Ph. A., including a former president and the president-elect.

The meeting adjourned to meet Tuesday, November 17.-[W. B. DAY, Secretary.

A. PH. A.

The Northwestern Branch of the A. Ph. A. held an interesting meeting October 19 with the Hennepin County Medical Society. Dean F. J. Wulling reports that U. S. P. and N. F. propaganda occupied the attention of the members, and that the physicians are heartily in accord with the pharmacists in this work.

A. Ph. A. Officers for 1909-10 Elected by Mail.The result of the ballot which closed October 20 will be announced in the A. Ph. A. Bulletin for December. The official list of nominees is as follows:

For president-Eugene G. Eberle, Dallas, Tex.: Henry H. Rusby, New York City; A. B. Stevens, Ann Arbor, Mich.

For first vice-president-Clement B. Lowe, Philadelphia, Pa.; Foress B. Lillie, Guthrie, Okla.; F. C. Schachleiter, Hot Springs, Ark.

For second vice-president-Charles W. Johnson, Seattle, Wash.; Francis B. Hays, New York City; Murray G. Motter, Washington, DC,

For third vice-president-Edward V. Howell, Chapel Hill, N. C.; William B. Day, Chicago, Ill.; John B. Bond, Little Rock, Ark, For three members of the council-Oscar Oldberg, Chicago. Ill.; George M. Beringer, Camden, N. J.; Charles E. Caspari, St. Louis, Mo.; Albert M. Roehrig, Stapleton, N. Y.; Joseph W. England, Philadelphia, Pa.; F, W. R Perry, Detroit, Mich.; William Mittelbach, Boonville, Mo.; Harry B. Mason, Detroit, Mich.; William L. Dewoody, Pine Bluff, Ark.

Retiring Treasurer Sheppard. Mr. S. A. D. Sheppard gradually gave up one interest after another before finally deciding to resign as treasurer of the A. Ph. A. He has for a few years past been spending his winters in his cottage near Asheville, N. C., and his summer in the family cottage at Amesbury, Mass., near Boston. At this writing Mr. Sheppard is visiting with his son at Swarthmore, Pa., and will soon, in company with Mrs. Sheppard, journey south to Asheville. He continues to keep in close touch with the A. Ph. A, and renders the treasurer-elect every possible aid in the new duties which go with that office. Mr. Sheppard had during twenty-two years built up a system for the conduct of the affairs of the treasurer, which is as near perfect as good judgment and faithful service can render it. The books and records are so complete and explicit that they constitute an exceedingly valuable contribution to the history of the association and cover fully the financial feature of the great organization. Mr. Sheppard is now honorary president of the A. Ph. A., a member of the council and a member of the board of trustees of the U. S. P. convention, as well as a trustee of the Endowment Fund of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. These are certainly responsibilities for a man who feels that he has practically retired from the activities of life, and indicate in a way the wonderful amount of work the retiring treasurer has carried during a long life of activities. He is certainly entitled to the comparatively quiet life which he proposes to lead and which his friends desire to see extended for many pleasant years to come. To those of our readers who have not met Mr. Shep

pard personally, we commend the words of Harry B. Mason, editor of the Bulletin of Pharmacy, when he said: "There is about Mr. Sheppard a mellow charm, a lofty rectitude, a self-sacrificing altruism which almost defy embodiment in cold type, and which make one pause in any attempt to render justice to his personality and character."

Co-operation or Consolidation, which shall it be? Dr. James H. Beal editor of the Midland Druggist, has the following to say in that journal for October under the heading, "The Aphanard.”

"This somewhat strange looking caption is neither the designation of a new arrival at the zoo, nor the coined name of a St. Louis synthetic, nor even the scientific title of a lately discovered bacillus, but a combination of the abbreviated titles of the American Pharmaceutical Association and of the National Association of Retail Druggists, and is a hint of future possibilities, should these two associations fall in with the views of some of their enthusiastic members and combine their resources and membership into a new and greater organization.

"That such an organization would be immensely larger and stronger than either of the two associations is likely to become independently, is indisputable, but it should not be forgotten that there may be other worthy ideals of association work than mere strength and bigness, and such ideals should not be sacrificed unless there is good assurance of corresponding benefits.

"Any reputable person connected with any branch of the science and art of preparing and dispensing medicines, whether as manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer, or as a professor of pharmacy or of its included sciences, or as an editor of a pharmaceutical journal, is eligible to election to membership in the American Pharmaceutical Association.

"Its meetings and those of its branches furnish an open forum for the discussion of any phase of pharmacy or medicine, or of any scientific, educational, legal, or commercial question connected therewith.

"Any one who believes he has a message to pharmacy is invited to proclaim it, and the single question asked is not, "What is the source of the message?" but "Is it true?"

"The Association relies solely upon the potency of truth to make itself effective, and addresses itself to the work of discovering and proclaiming the truth, rather than upon the force of collective effort, other than that which naturally results when a large number of individuals see the same things in the same way.

"In other words, the A. Ph. A. seeks to accomplish its ends through education rather than by compulsion, and in its plan of organization, its method of working, and in its ideals is scientific and ethical rather than commercial and economic, though most of its work makes for commercial and economic betterment.

"The N. A. R. D., on the other hand, is the militant organization of pharmacy, and aims not merely to lead the pharmaceutical steed to the fountain of commercial truth, but also to make him drink. Its first and prin

cipal object is the improvement of the pharmacist commercially, and it deals with scientific, educational and ethical questions only incidentally.

"The purposes of the two associations are perhaps equally worthy, but the same things are not equally important with each; the things which are the main issues with one, are side issues with the other.

"In short, the two associations are like the two halves of a sphere, each with a side peculiarly its own, but uniting in a common zone at the equator.

"Each association has its own special work, and by virtue of the method of its organization and the character of its membership is able to do that work better than it could be done by the other.

"The question to be answered, then, is whether the two by their union would be likely to strengthen each other in their special lines of work or to interfere therein; whether the professors would insist in having their say in the policy to be adopted in the regulation of trade matters, and the retailers insist in prescribing the curriculum for the colleges of pharmacy, or whether they would leave the work of regulating these matters to those most intimately connected therewith, as is now done by the separate associations.

"It would seem necessary therefore in case of a consolidation, to provide some sort of working agreement whereby the dictation of the policies of the association regarding scientific, educational and ethical questions, and those regarding purely trade and commercial questions should be left in pretty much the same hands as at present. In the absence of such an

The Committee which audited the treasurer's accounts consists of Louis Emanuel and J. A. Koch, both of Pittsburgh.

The Hot Springs Meeting was worth lots to me. I shall be more useful on account of attending it.— [JOHN B. BOND, Little Rock, Ark.

Foress Ball Lillie, Jr., arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. F. B. Lillie, Guthrie, Okla., September 15. He promises to attend the Los Angeles meeting of the A. Ph. A. in 1909.

C. Whorton, of Whorton Sons Drug Co., Gadsden, Ala., was the only representative from Alabama at the Hot Springs meeting of the A. Ph. A. He has already decided to attend the 1909 convention.

To Date, eighteen colleges and boards of pharmacy have taken advantage of the offer of the A. Ph. A. to present nominations for membership and one year's dues and special certificate of membership to prize students and candidates for registration.

The Nominating Committee presented the names for two sets of officers, one to serve for 1908-9, and they were duly elected; the other set is to be voted upon by mail by the members of the association, and the officers elected to serve for 1909-10. This is in accordance with new by-laws adopted at New York City in 1907.

would be able to dominate at all points.

"A second important question which would need tc be solved would be the finding of sufficient time for the joint program. The A. Ph. A. now finds it impossible to give proper consideration to all of the questions which comes before it at its annual convention while the N. A. R. D. program is equally crowded. Would not this difficulty be doubled if the associations should unite in a joint program?

"In view of these and of some even more serious questions which would have to be solved before there could be a permanently satisfactory merging of the two associations, would it not be wiser, for the present at least, to give consideration only to methods of cooperation rather than to consolidation, leaving the latter problem to be determined by the exigencies of the future?"

Hot Springs Vapor.

The National Formulary has sold to the extent of 29,000 copies since the last revision.

During the Past Year the council considered fifteen letters and thirty-nine motions.

The Committee on Credentials consists of J. W. England (chairman), E. G. Eberle and F. C. Godbold.

About $10,000 have been expended in publishing, advertising and delivering the third edition of the National Formulary.

reading of papers and follow the discussions intelligently. The 1908 meeting was just the kind of a meeting that we need.—[LEO ELIEL, South Bend, Ind.

Many Drug Stores are Without Either the Pharmacopoeia or the National Formulary.-Dr. J. H. Beal believes that each drug store in the country should have the Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary. His recent experience as food and drugs inspector for the State of Ohio convinces him that room exists for propaganda work in this direction. This led him to introduce a motion at a council meeting of the A. Ph. A., at Hot Springs, and the motion was approved, first by the council and then by the association at large.

Weimar's Welcome.-Henry Weimar, Ph. G., of Hot Springs, extended the following welcome to some of his pharmaceutical friends invited for the A. Ph. A. convention:

We've got water that comes bilin'
Right outen th' ol' groun'

And goes a-runnin' down the hillside
A-slashin' all aroun'.

We ain't quite shore who heats hit,

Or whur the fire comes frum,

Some think hits ol' Nick hisself

An' some thinks hits this ray-de-yum,

But we 'low hit don't matter

If "Nick" heats hit or not

When you fellows take a swim in it, you'll think

she's mighty hot.

PRESCRIPTION CASE DEPARTMENT.

BY J. M. GOOD, PH. M., HON. M. D., PROFESSOR THEORY AND PRINCIPLES OF PHARMACY, ST. LOUIS COLLEGE OF PHARMACY.

Correspondence for this department is solicited. Borax and Glycerin.—“Why does a mixture of sodium borate, sodium bicarbonate and glycerin effervesce? Will this action occur if the glycerin is pure?" Answer.-Glycerin (pure or impure with water) decomposes borax, giving, ultimately, free boric acid. The free acid re-acts with the sodium bicarbonate liberating carbon dioxide, hence the effervescence.

Protargol Solution.-Subscriber asks: "How can this be quickly made? The stuff foams and cakes." Answer. Put the required amount of water into a graduate, sprinkle the protargol upon the surface of the liquid and stir the mixture gently with a glass rod until solution is effected. As protargol is a silver and albumin compound coagulation is prevented by using

cold water.

Pil Tr. Warburg. ex-Aloes.-Student asks: "What should be dispensed when this is called for in a prescription?"

Answer. The ready-made pill, "without aloes" should be dispensed. The Latin prefix "ex" means "out." The above expression can scarcely be considered conventional, and we rather prefer, in this instance, the plain English.

A Prescription Problem.-Druggist says: "I wish you would tell me how to make a mass of the following prescription:

Creosote........
Duotal........

Powdered Pepsin...

Powdered Nux Vomica......

.124 drops.

60 grains.

40 grains.

6 grains.

A very good mass may be made of the above by first triturating the creosote with one hundred and twentyfour grains of powdered soap. Then add Fairchild's powdered pepsin, which is insoluble, and finally the other ingredients. The whole will work up into a tolerably firm adhesive mass.

Chloral Hydrate and Camphor.-"A mixture of these substances turns dark if kept on hand. What is the explanation?"

Answer. We do not know that the question can be answered in a manner to satisfy the most exacting. We venture the guess that it is due to what is termed "carbonization," as camphor and chloral hydrate are both organic compounds. A familiar example of carbonization is given in Syrup of Squill. The recent syrup is nearly colorless, but owing to the action of the acid upon the sugar it gradually acquires a deep brown color; a tint that would be imparted to it by the addition of caramel.

posed when brought into contact with organic matter; glycerol and other alcohols are in the class of substances so designated. It is this ready liberation of oxygen which makes it a valuable antiseptic and deodorant. Solutions of it applied locally destroy the fetor of gangrenous ulcers and wounds. "Condy's Fluid," of which it is an important ingredient, has been used as a disinfecting fluid, for many years.

A Simple and Convenient Antidote to Morphine.— Drug clerk writes: "Would you dispense the following prescription:

Morphine sulphate...
Sugar of milk....................
Mix and make four powders.

6 grs. .1 dr.

Directions: Take one powder every three bours. The above question was asked by the board of pharmacy examination. I was marked "0" for saying that I would not fill it. The examiner claims that the sugar of milk counteracts the action of morphine. I differ with him. Which is correct?"

inert and harmless vehicle for potent remedies. Until it has been indisputably established that it "counteracts the action of morphine" we would decline to dispense the above prescription.

Answer. Sugar of milk has long been regarded as an

Do Not Expect the Laws of Chemistry and Natural Philosophy to be Suspended.—Inquirer writes: "How would you compound the following prescription so that it will be a perfectly dry powder when put into capsules?

R. Caffeine.. Salol.... Camphor...

Phenacetin.

Mix.

Fiat capsule No. 20.

Answer. Camphor and salol triturated together form a liquid. One of these two ingredients might be omitted from the mixture and dispensed separately; or with a proper vehicle of a viscid character, a mixture of the entire prescription might be made and dispensed with a "shake the bottle" label.

Tincture Simulo.-What is the formula? Answer. We have not met with a published formula for tincture of simulo.

The name is a coined one and is applied to the fruit of Capparis coriacea, of the capparidaceae or caper family. A number of the species of the genus capparis possess pungent properties and are used as substitutes for pepper. This would suggest the proper menstruum for exhausting the drug to be alcohol. In the absence of an authoritative formula we would suggest the making of a twenty per cent tincture. The drug is rare and expensive, the tincture being quoted at from $3.50 to $5.00 a pound; the drug at practically the same prices. To be consistent the tincture should be a very strong one. It is used as a "nervine" or anti

Answer. Potassium permanganate is always decom

its value in the treatment of this malady remains to be established.