319BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENOE.

improved accommodation, planning, and equipment justifiedthe Executive Committee in its agreement to contribute inthe form of premium or rent for these laboratories, and hehoped that additional public support would enable themto meet this tax without encroaching on the capital of thetrust. Progress was being made, but there would be muchexpenditure in time and money before definite results couldbe obtained, and once more they had to ask their supportersto exercise the virtue of patience.

Sir RICHARD DOUGLAS POWELL seconded the motion, whichwas unanimously adopted.

Sir HENRY BUTLIN moved, and Sir JOHN McFADYEANseconded, the nomination for re-election by the RoyalColleges of Physicians of London and Surgeons of Englandof Sir William Church as a member of the ExecutiveCommittee. This also was carried.

Sir THOMAs BARLOW proposed a vote of thanks to theDuke of Bedford for presiding, which was seconded by SirJOHN TWEEDY and unanimously carried.

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICALCONFERENCE.

Presidential Address.THE forty-eighth annual meeting of the British Pharma-

ceutical Conference was opened at the Municipal College,Portsmouth, on July 25th, when, after an address of welcomehad been given on behalf of the municipality, Mr. W. F.WELLS (Dublin) delivered his presidential address, whichdealt mainly with the laws relating to the sale of poisons inthe United Kingdom. He showed that the one idea runningthrough the various Pharmacy Acts was the protection andconvenience of the public, the public health and the lives ofthe people being considered of paramount importance. Theessential difference between the pharmacy laws of the UnitedKingdom and those of France is that the French laws givethe pharmacist a definite place in the community, specificservices to perform for the community, and ensure that noneshall poach upon the preserves fenced by these laws. InGermany the practice of pharmacy is strictly confined to

qualified persons, and a custom exists there which is un-known either here or in France of strictly limiting thenumber of pharmacies, each pharmacy throughout the Empirebeing licensed by the State. The consequence is that in

Germany a pharmacist cannot start business until a vacancyfor a pharmacy occurs and he obtains or purchases the con-cessicn to carry on the business of an old-established

pharmacy, or to open a new one where the growth of thepopulation warrants the State granting a new concession.After further demonstrating the superiority of the Germanand French systems over the British and Irish, Mr. Wellsasked, "Might not the British Government with advantagetake a lesson from our French and German neighbours, and,when importing German-made insurance schemes, go a

little further and include an order for a few pharmacylaws made in Germany ’ ? " Mr. Wells had a word to

say concerning the supply of drugs to Irish boards ofguardians. In Ireland the Local Government Board compelthe guardians of unions to accept the lowest tender,and the result of this may best be shown by quoting thePresident’s words. "What becomes." he asked, "of thetons of damaged and useless drugs that from time to timeare placed on the market ? Much of the stuff which is un-saleable in the British drug market is, I believe, sent

abroad, and yet finds it way back again, having been either’cooked’ or redressed, to Great Britain and Ireland for

consumption. Who is responsible for this state of affairs ?The answer is the boards of guardians, governors of institu-tions, and the public who insist on buying medicines at

competitive prices at which we know they cannot be pro-duced. It appears to me a cruel thing-I might go evenfurther and say a criminal thing-for those who have intheir hands the care of the sick poor in public institutions topurchase the supplies of medicines, putting price first, andtoo often without regard to quality or therapeutic value, thelowest tender being the one standard of merit." As to theNational Insurance Bill, the President had little to sayexcept that if passed in its present form it would certainlyinjure many a pharmacist.

Papers read in the Bcssence Section.The reading of papers in the Science Section was begun

at the conclusion of the Presidential address and continuedon the following day. There were in all 20 papers, some ofwhich were brief notes on subjects of purely pharmaceuticalinterest. Several of the papers were of some importance tomedical practitioners, as, for instance, the communication byMr. R. R. BENNETT, B.Sc.. F.I.C., on a Suggested Standardfor Thyroideum Siccum. There is a widespread belief amongclinicians that the commercial thyroid preparations varyconsiderably in their degree of physiological activity, but atthe present time there is no officially recognised standardisa-tion process. The agreement among the majority of pharma-cologists that the activity of thyroid is directly proportional to,and dependent upon, the combined iodine present appears to,render it urgently desirable that an iodine standard shouldbe fixed, especially in view of the wide variations in theiodine content of commercial samples of thyroideum siccum.Specimens of this product from four of the leading manu-facturers have been examined recently, and the combinediodine present has been found to vary in amount from 0 - 315per cent. to 0.038 per cent. The percentage of iodine indry thyroid obtained direct from the slaughter-house has alsobeen determined, the glands having been treated in accord-ance with the directions in the British Pharmacopoeia; theiodine present in these powders has been found to vary from0’21 per cent. to 0- 096 per cent., the average value being0- 158 per cent. Mr. Bennett’s figures confirm those obtainedby previous investigators, and in his opinion these figuresindicate that an iodine standard of 0, 15 per cent. mightbe adopted for thyroideum siccum without in any wayunduly harassing the manufacturer.

Mr. H. DRANE, B.Sc., F.I.C., in a paper on Extract ofIndian Hemp, drew attention to the variability of this extractas supplied by manufacturers. The pharmacopoeial prepara-tion is unsatisfactory, being composed of two constituents,a green resin and brown water-soluble extractive matter,which show a tendency to separate, and, moreover, it is byno means completely soluble in alcohol, which makes thepreparation of the tincture troublesome and messy. There-fore a demand has arisen for an extract soluble in alcohol ; rhence the reason for the predominance of non-officialextracts. There is little doubt that the resinous portion ofthe extract contains the active principle, and extracts whichare practically pure resin may be expected to be thera-

peutically more active as well as pharmaceutically moreelegant than other extracts. To obtain such an extract themethod suggested by Mr. Drane was simply to wash awaythe brown extractives with warm water after the spirit hadbeen distilled off in the same way as resin of jalap and resinof scammony are prepared. He suggested that this methodshould be adopted by the Pharmacopoeia, so that the presentunsatisfactory state of affairs might be altered.

In a paper on the Supposed Loss of Morphine in the

Preparation of Tincture of Opium, Mr. E. H. FARR, F.C.S.,and Mr. R. WRIGHT, F.C.S., demonstrated that whenthe official methods are followed throughout there is always.a loss. In seven samples of opium worked upon this variedbetween the limits of 0 8 per cent. and 9.0 per cent. of thewhole, with an average for the whole series of 4’78 percent. In the light of these results it is evident that,notwithstanding the amount of careful thought and experi-mental work which has been devoted to the subject of opiumassay, there is still room for a thorough and systematicreview of the whole subject. If the principles of the

process had been radically unsound, the authors would haveexpected to find the deficiency of morphine to be moreconstant and regular than is the case. The loss appearsto them to be due more probably to the occlusion of thealkaloid, rendering its complete extraction by water or

alcohol a matter of practical impossibility, or to some otherfactor which has hitherto escaped recognition.A paper of particular interest to medical practitioners was

read by Mr. F. W. F. ARNAUD, F.I.C., on the Compositionof Diabetic Foods. The term diabetic food embraces a verywide class of food products, but in this communicationgluten bread and flours only were dealt with. The majorityof the almond, milk protein, and soya bean, &:c., prepara-tions are known to contain less than 10 per cent. of starch.dextrin, and sugar together. Mr. Arnaud examined 12different samples of gluten bread and flours, the product ofseven manufacturers, and the conclusion he came to was thatthe products of one manufacturer only were satisfactory.He described the method of analysis adopted and tabulatedthe results. Drawing attention to the advertisement matter

320 METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL SUNDAY FUND.

of some of the firms in question, he said that one firm sub-mitted that its products were more nutritious than any otherpreparation of the kind ; again, a statement advertised verygenerally was to the effect that the starch present in the foods’had been altered, so that it could be digested and assimilated<by the diabetic subject. But Mr. Arnaud cannot confirm thestatement that the starch is appreciably altered either by thequalitative iodine test or the microscope. A sample of anexpensive diabetic food was found to consist of ordinaryflour which had merely been heated.

In a note on Linimentum Ammonias, Mr. F. H. ALCOOE,F.I.C., suggested an improved formula for this preparation.When made according to the official process the linimentsometimes becomes solid on keeping. His suggested formulawas as follows : almond oil, 3 fluid ounces ; olive oil, 8 fluidounces ; strong solution of ammonia (0 880), 1 fluid ounce.’The product has not such a good appearance as the fresh- official preparation, but is very effectual. He did notknow why the expensive almond oil was introduced intothe offiial formula, and thought that olive oil alone mightbe used with his suggested formula.

Mr. D. B. DoTT, F.R.S.E., in a note on Spirit of NitrousEther, said that under practical conditions of dispensing itwas difficult to avoid the volatilisation of the ethyl nitrite.He therefore proposed that no spirit of nitrous ether should’be kept in stock at all. There would be two solutions, likeFehling No. 1 and No. 2, which would be mixed when dis-pensing, using flllid drachm of sodium nitrite solution with

7&frac12; fluid drachms of alcohol acidified with lactic acid. The

proposal was made in view of the forthcoming Pharma-copoeia. Mr. Dott also read short notes on StrychnineHypophosphite and Arsenates of Strychnine.

In a note on Solution of Sodium Ethylate Mr. H.FINNEMORE, B.Sc , said it usually happened when this solu-tion was required for use the I I stock " was dark in colour _;;although its medicinal properties are not affected by thiscolouration, the user is apt to assume that deterioration hasaccompanied the change. A sample of solution of sodium’methylate showed no trace of discolouration after two years.Mr. Finnemore also (with Mr. G. E. TOWN) contributed amote on Bartsia Odontites.A communication on Padophyllum Emodi was contributed

’by Mr. J. C. UMNEY, F.C S., who referred to the second

’report of the Indigenous Drugs Committee of India, which-dealt with Podophyllum emodi amongst other drugs. Somemedical opinions recorded in that committee’s report indi-cated that the purgative action of P. emodi resin was better-than that of podophyllum resin (B.P.), as the drug did not<produce griping ; whilst other medical opinions were that itwas about equal in value to the pharmacopoeial resin. At’the request of the Indian Drugs Committee Mr. Umney con-ducted a series of experiments upon the drug, collected under - different conditions and at different seasons. He found that Ithe Indian rhizome collected after flowering was at least twice

’’

.as rich in podophyllotoxin as the American rhizome.The titles of other papers were as follows : I I An Experi-

ment in Peppermint Culture," by Mr. J. H. HENDERSON, inwhich it was shown that the oil yield of peppermint grownin the shade was less than a quarter of the yield of ordinaryplants; "Note on the Constitution of Commercial BismuthSubchloride," by Mr. J. B. P. HARRISON, F.IC; "WhitePrecipitate and the Analysis of White Precipitate Oint-ment," by Mr. G. D. ELSDON, B.Sc. ; " Note on Spirit of

’:Sal Volatile," by Mr. E. W. POLLARD, B.Sc. ; and "TheMoisture and Ash Contents of Medicinal Extracts," byMr. K. C. ALLEN and Mr. T. BREWIS, F. I. C.

In the Practice Section there were discussions on Secretand Proprietary Medicines, Pharmaceutical Education, and,the National Insurance Scheme.

DEATH FROM SALVARSAN.-At the Hacknev- ’coroner’s court on July 19th Dr. W. Wynn Westcott,held an inquest with reference to the death of a man, aged

- 47 years, who died from the effects of taking salvarsan,or "606." Dr. George Dorner, medical officer of theGerman Hospital, said the deceased suffered from loco-motor ataxy. His condition was serious. He was treatedwith salvarsan and received an injection of 0-6 gramme,

- =about 7 grains being the dose. After the treatment he’became worse and died. Tne jury returned a verdict that’.the man died as a result of the injection of salvarsan

.properly used.

METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL SUNDAYFUND.

THE following are among the amounts received at theMansion House up to July 22nd (total available for dis-trihntinti .F.df) 700)

SEVENTEENTH INTERNATIONALCONGRESS OF MEDICINE

(LONDON, 1913).

MEETING OF ORGANISING COMMITTEE.A MEETING of the Organising Committee was held on

Friday, July 14th, at the Royal College of Physicians ofLondon, Sir THOMAS BARLOW, the President, being in thechair.There were present, among others, Sir Dyce Duckworth,

Dr. F. W. Pavy, Sir William Bennett, Sir William Allchin, SirWilliam Osler, Dr. Norman Moore, Professor G. Sims Wood-head, Sir David Ferrier, Sir Malcolm Morris, Sir R HavelockCharles, Sir David Bruce, Dr. Squire Sprigge, Mr. G. H.Makins, Dr. W. P. Herringham, Dr. A. E. Garrod, Mr. C. T.Dent, Dr. T. D. Acland, Dr. Herbert Saencer, Sir A. PearceGould, Sir Watson Cheyne, Sir Shirley Murphy, Dr. FrederickTaylor, and Dr. Dudley Buxton.The minutes of the last meeting, -as published in

THE LANCET and British Medical Journal of April 8th,1911, were confirmed.

Letters of regret were read from 20 members of thecommittee who were unable to attend. ,The report of the Executive Committee was adopted as

follows : -

(1) That the printing of the Transactions of the Congress be entrustedto the Oxford Press; (2) that the Royal Albert Hall be engaged for theweek of the Congress, to serve as post office. bureau, and site for theexhibition of medical appliances; and (3) that the arrangements to bemade for carrying out the exhibition of medical appliances, in accord-ance with the resolution of the Organising Committee, be left in thehands of the Finance Committee, with power to act and report to theExecutive Committee.

The HONORARY GENERAL SECRETARY (Dr. W. P.

Herringham) reported that the regulations proposed at thelast meeting of the Organising Committee had been laidbefore the Permanent Commission, and had been, withslight modifications, adopted.The question arose as to the rules which should be