LABORATORY NOTES.

Heroin may be distinguished from morphine and codeine by its behavior towards nitric acid. latter alkaloids give red colors in the cold, but heroin yellow and red only when warmed.—[Chemist and Druggist.

Leather Filters.-Leather, even when soft, does not present itself to the mind as a particularly good filter. ing medium; indeed, it might seem just the reverse; so one must commend Mr. W. G. Stratton for noting his experience with it in the Chemist and Druggist. The so-called chamois skin is there recommended as an excellent medium for the clarification of thick liquids. The leather is to be well rinsed in cold water, he says, and after being wrung to express the excess of moisture it should be affixed to the top of the funnel so as not to hang down very deeply. Small clothes-line pegs are useful for this purpose. Immediately after use, the chamois should be well washed and carefully dried. The same piece may thus be kept serviceable for a large number of filtrations.-[Scientific American.

The Laboratory Table Top is often an unsightly object. H. W. Wilder, of Smith College, contributes to the Journal of Applied Microscopy the following method of giving laboratory table tops a serviceable finish:

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"I. By means of a woolen cloth apply to the freshly planed and sand-papered surface of the table a mixture consisting of equal parts of turpentine and linseed oil, using it freely, and rubbing it in evenly and well. Let it dry two or three days.

"II. Dissolve in turpentine shavings of yellow beeswax until the mixture forms a jelly which, at ordinary temperature, is of about the consistency of vaseline, becoming a clear liquid when slightly warmed. Apply this warm by means of a woolen cloth, rubbing it in as in the case of the first mixture, and let it dry over night.

"III. Polish by rubbing, first with a brick or flatiron covered with woolen cloth, and then with a piece of dry cloth held in the hand. The heavy object removes the superfluous wax, but leaves the surface dull, while repeated slight rubbing of the second cloth produces a slight polish or gloss."

Comparison of Hydrometer Scales.-We give below the comparison of the three scales now most in use for hydrometers or alcoholometers. It will be found very useful:

Wonderful Man. Mrs. O'Brien. I was afraid, Mrs. O'Toole, that yer husband would be laid up fur some time, but I hear he's mindin' rale quick.

Mrs. O'Toole. Aye, Shure. I belave he began to get well the minute he got sick.

HISTORICAL PHARMACY.

The St. Louis College of Pharmacy Faculty.-The following is the response made by Prof. Francis Hemm to the above toast at the faculty banquet tendered the graduating class of 1907:

The faculty of our college is so well known to you as to need no indroduction. The individual members, as well as each one's peculiar characteristics are likewise well known to each of you.

I will, therefore, not try to eulogize any of them in particular in the few moments assigned me to respond to the toast, but will content myself in leaving you carry away with you, the impressions made upon you by each one while you were with us at college.

My first acquaintance with the faculty of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy dates back to 1873. That year our hale and hearty emeritus professor, Dr. Enno Sander, laid down his labors in favor of Prof. Otto A. Wall.

In that same year I entered the junior class of the college, with Prof. Wall in the chair of botany and materia medica; Prof. Hubert Primm in the chair of pharmacy; Prof. Theodore Fay in the chair of chemistry. This trio enthusiastically instructed what is now pretty well advertised as the class of 1875.

From the lips of our senior active member of the faculty, Prof. Wall, as also from the published history of the college, we are informed that there were earlier teachers in this college. In the chair of chemistry Prof. Wadgymar (January, 1865), McArdle and Prof. Hugo Krebs (October, 1871) preceded Dr. Fay (July 1872). In the chair of pharmacy Prof. O'Gallagher and Prof. Justin Steer preceded Prof. Primm. In the chair of materia medica and botany Profs. Alleyne and Potter served before Dr. Enno Sander. Of these early teachers only Dr. Justin Steer and Dr. Enno Sander remain, all the others having passed away.

In their day the college was struggling and contending for its very existence-but thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of such men this college was made a reality.

The real successful life of the faculty began with the advent of the first Wall in 1873. In 1876 Prof. J. M. Good succeeded Prof. Hubert Primm (resigned) in the chair of pharmacy. This made a good wall about the institution. Upon the retirement of Prof. Fay in June 1878 that noble and grand teacher, Dr. Charles O. Curtman became professor of chemistry. In 1882 this trio conspired against me and hemmed me in the pharmaceutical laboratory. Two years after this we acquired our youthful Whelpley for the microscopical laboratory. This quintet labored for a series of years as one happy family for the advancement of the college's best interests. With the exception of our beloved friend and co-laborer, Dr. Chas. O. Curtman, who died in 1896, all are here tonight with you and still in active service.

zation of quiz classes for each branch of study. Independent quiz masters were appointed for this purpose. Prof. H. M. Whelpley was elected to quiz on materia medica and pharmacognosy; Mr. DeLaniel Haigh was appointed to conduct the quiz in the department of chemistry; Prof. Francis Hemm was elected to conduct the quiz class in pharmacy.

After some years these three relinquished their positions in favor of Dr. Jno. Charles Falk, in pharmacy; Dr. Otto A. Wall, Jr., pharmacognosy, and Carl Hinrichs, chemistry.

Prof. Wall has served over a third of a century. Prof. Good is now at the brink of a third of a century. Your humble servant completes his quarter of a hundred, and Prof. Whelpley records twenty-three years. No wonder we are sometimes styled-the faculty that rarely dies and never resigns. May our good successors in the future enjoy that longevity and active usefulness that has been our good fortune. Indeed, the time seems so short to us (for we have been busily and we hope usefully employed these years), that we can hardly realize the fact that we have been in the harness this long.

The great and busy Leo XIII, on the morning of his papal jubilee, exclaimed to his household, as he gazed over to St. Peter's from the vatican: "Have I actually been in here for twenty-five years!"

Oh, yes! truly his twenty-five had flitted away; and so, too, have ours gone by swiftly. How much we have accomplished we must leave to our students to decide, yet this utterance I will venture: Every member of the faculty has tried his level best to do his full duty, and has had the best interests of the college and students earnestly at heart.

We also feel a keen interest in the future welfare of the college. We have secured, since the severance of Dr. Hinrichs from the faculty (who was with us for some time), a professor of chemistry in the best of his years with the promise of a long career of usefulness; I refer to Dr. Chas. E. Caspari.

We, therefore, hope that the molecular perturbations in that department will miss their mark when they threaten to knock out our professor of chemistry; that we may continue to feel that this department is well taken care of for a long time to come.

We have also added a new Wall, which we hope will last to serve this institution for as long a time as the good old Wall has done. We have secured Elbrecht the man of promise in his department for many years to come; and Cockrell who is training to supply future needs in the faculty.

Again, referring to the new Wall of this faculty, I want to impress forcibly upon your minds that it is no Chinese wall.

We have provided ample portals in it whereby other worthy young men, and let us hope of our own Alumni, may enter and replace us as time decrees our services ended.

Lang and myself, I congratulate every member of this graduating class on your new honors; we wish you success in life; we want you to remember us, but especially our precepts; máy you prove a credit to us and an honor to your profession.

Don't forget your Alma Mater, the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, which fitted you for your life's vocation. And now, Mr. Toastmaster, let us all rise in honor and respect to the memory of the departed of our faculty.

Mexican Drug Trade.-Consul-General Philip C. Hanna writes that drug stores are numerous in Monterey and apparently well patronized. He sends the following report on the pharmaceutical trade:

Among the Monterey pharmacies is one, probably the largest wholesale and retail establishment of the kind in Mexico, where large quantities of proprietary medicines are received in bulk, put in bottles or boxes, and labeled for shipment to various parts of the country. The French were the first in the field with proprietary preparations, which are still in demand, while a number of American preparations that have been well advertised are meeting with large sales. There is an increasing tendency among American manufacturers to push their business in such lines in Mexico.

Perfumes, soap, and toilet articles generally are supplied, for the greater part by France, though a few special preparations, such as shaving soap come from the United States, and Germany is also becoming more and more active in this department of the trade.

In chemicals generally the greater portion of the supply dealt in here comes from Germany and France. The United States being nearer receives many small orders when it is necessary to save time, but Germany appears to be decidedly in the lead with staple drugs. American articles give perfect satisfaction, but as a rule are said to be slightly higher in prices than European goods. In this city the drug trade is largely in the hands of the Germans, and this probably accounts in a measure for the buying of goods from Germany, but German drug manufacturers have been very active in pushing their trade in Mexico, while Americans seem to have been comparatively indifferent to this market.

Another thing that counts in favor of German goods is that they nearly all come labeled in the Spanish language, while American goods, with the exception ot proprietary medicines, are usually received here with English labels, which are unintellgible to a large number of the people.

With a proper study of the drug trade American manufacturers could build up a much larger business in northern Mexico than they now have. In order to do this it is necessary to put in this field live salesmen who speak the Spanish language. Merchants here are not disposed to change from one house to another except for good cause, and an order once secured is liable to be repeated indefinitely as business demands. The name of the principal drug importers at Monte

concerns.

What Is Business?-Fowler says: "Webster defines business as: 1. Employment, that which occupies the time, attention and labor of men. 2. Affairs; 3. The subject of employment; that which engages the care and attention. 4. Serious engagement; important occupation, in distinction from trivial affairs. 5. Concern; right of action or interposing. 6. A point; a matter of question; something to be examined, considered, or performed." Its Latin equivalent, negotium (nego otium) denotes self-denial of ease for the sake of an object to be attained. In a more restricted sense the word business signifies those pursuits which involve buying and selling, or bargaining in some way, in contradistinction from the employments of the farmer, the mechanic, the manufacturer, the artist, the teacher, etc.; but since all pursuits and employments necessitate, either directly or indirectly, the exchange of labor or its results for money or its equivalent, the last definition may be accepted without circumscribing us too narrowly. We are all to a greater or less extent, men of business, and should aim to be to the same extent, business men."

NECROLOGY.

Alfred B. Scott, of the firm of Scott & Bowne, died at his home in Switzerland, January 8, at the age of sixty-two years. He was born in New York City, educated in this country, but became interested in business enterprises in various sections of the world.

Peter T. Austen, of New York City, died December 31, at the age of fifty-six years. He was engaged principally in expert chemical work and often testified in court proceedings. He was a member of the special jury at the World's Fair in St. Louis, which considered the exhibits of pharmaceutical chemicals.

Dr. Nicholas Senn died of heart disease at his home in Chicago, January 2. The doctor had recently returned from South America where he spent much time in mountain climbing which may have caused the sudden development of heart trouble. Dr. Senn was one of the most prominent physicians in America and ranked among the first as a surgeon. He was particularly talented in literary pursuits and contributed much of interest to the general reader. His records of travel were instructive from a medical point of view and entertaining for the average reader. The doctor was a man of much wealth and used his money freely in the interest of medical education, medical libraries and other praise-worthy enterprises.

William H. Burke, president of the Central Drug Co., of Detroit, Grand Rapids and Chicago, died suddenly last December, as a result of despondency. He was only forty-three years of age, a graduate of the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Michigan and an ambitious business man whose hard work caused the nervous breakdown resulting in his taking his own life with a revolver. He was appreciated as a man as well as a prominent member of the A. Ph. A., and the state association. He was unmarried but leaves two sisters and two brothers.

WILLIAM H. BURKE.

Lord Kelvin.-Sir William Thompson, who since 1892 has been known as Baron Kelvin, died in England, December 17, at the well-lengthened age of eighty-four years. He was one of the most brilliant scholars and eminent scientists of the past century and beginning of the present one. While not directly active in pharmaceutical lines, he was an honorary member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and other similar organizations. It was in natural philosophy that he gained his greatest eminence. He considered the earth to be much younger than the age assigned it by most scientists. He calculated the size of the molecule. He was firmly convinced throughout

his entire life of the divine creation and on all occasions opposed the materialistic views. He was an exceedingly modest man and never relished the exhibition which was made of him on various occasions, when he was showered with honors.

MATRIMONY.

Milton A. Frost, of Memphis, Tenn., is receiving congratulations on account of the announcement of his engagement to Miss Belle Eugenia Deutsch, of that city.

Scott-Parker.-Mr. Rascoe Scott and Miss Blance Parker, of Artesia, N. M., were married January 2. This quiet wedding which surprised the many friends of the couple is of interest to pharmacists, as Mr. Scott is a well known pharmacist.

Druggist Elopes With Society Girl.-A pretty ro mance that began during school days and ended in an elopement and marriage, Saturday, December 14, was that of Miss Blanche Spangenberg, daughter of Attorney E. M. Spangenberg, 2654 Bellevue avenue, and Joseph W. Visconti, druggist, of 441 East Fifth Street. Mr. Visconti is twenty-four and his bride is twenty. He was until recently with Druggist Marvin, Ninth and Main Streets, but is now identified with Miss Dow's drug stores. The parents of the bride considered her too young to embark upon the sea of matrimony, but after their marriage was announced, the bride's parents gave their heartiest blessings. They were married by Squire Dumont in their home city, Cincinnati, O.

BIRTHS.

The Pfeffer Family is an important factor in the community at Chippewa Street and California Avenue, St. Louis, that is, it has been since January 13, when twins arrived at the house. One is a boy, the other a girl for, as the father says, "They came assorted."

An Odd Order Requiring Considerable Skill to Translate as paregoric and asafoetida is furnished by Dr. Wm. Lages, of Zalma, Mo.

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Cultivated Belladonna.-A manufacturing firm has a fifteen acre belladonna garden in operation near New Brunswick. The farm is successful as far as the production of a pure drug is concerned, but it is not yet profitable enough financially to make many farmers abandon their garden truck and take to cultivating.the deadly nightshhade.-[ Country Life in America.