tion which is afforded by its patent, copyright or trade-mark. Under this protection the holders are enabled to reap a vast profit which would not otherwise accrue to them, for although trade-mark protection is founded upon common law, it is made practicable only under the machinery provided by the national authorities. Viewed in this light, and undoubtedly this is the light in which it should be viewed, the holders of proprietary rights have no reason whatever to complain when in times of extraordinary demands upon the Public Treasury, as at present, the United States proposes to exact a still further fee from the proprietors for the protection which it affords them through the machinery of its Patent Office and its courts. Since this protection has extended to a very large line of articles, there is no reason for restricting the collection of additional revenue from this source to any particular class of proprietary articles, and Shall Right or Politics Prevail? any such restriction is purely arbitrary and indefensible. It is reported that since the committee of the Senate decided to include all proprietary articles in the list subject to taxation, the protest from the New England States in which the proverbial Yankee ingenuity has resulted in obtaining a very large number of patents and trade-marks, has been so overwhelming as to shake the committee in its position. These protests may, it is reported, induce the committee to fall back upon medicinal articles as at first outlined in the House bill. The only excuse which can be offered for such a change is the contemptible one of political expediency. The members of Congress may decide that the manufacturers of proprietary medicines are so insignificant that their protest can be ignored with political immunity, and that the New England inventors have too much political power to be ignored when they protest against the imposition of this tax. The Proprietary Association deserves the highest commendation for their efforts to have the law extended so as to apply to all proprietary articles of whatever kind and these efforts should be appreciated and assisted by the retail drug trade. A vigorous protest from the retail drug trade throughout the country against this unfair discrimination against medi cinal proprietary articles A Chance for Pro- as contrasted with other prietors to Re articles in which there is deem Themselves. vested a proprietary right should have weight in supporting the Senate Committee in the stand which it has proposed to take of making the tax apply to all proprietary articles. Thus distributed, the tax would not bear hardly upon any class of pre IN OF EXPERIENCE. parations and there would certainly be from various sections of the United Stamps on Goods in all proprietary articles now in stock until such articles are sold at retail. While this is intended to obviate the vast amount of inconvenience and trouble which would be caused by requiring all stocks to be stamped immediately on the passage of the bill, this relief is gained practically at the expense of the retail druggist if he is willing to submit to it. The enormous stocks which are in the hands of both manufacturers and jobbers will, like the stocks in the hands of the retailers, be exempt from taxation until they are sold by the retailer. One consequence of this will be that the retailer ordering six months hence from his jobber a dozen of a proprietary remedy, may be compelled. to affix stamps to these before selling them at his own expense. To obviate this danger, should the bill be enacted with this provision included in it, it becomes doubly imperative for the retailer to insist in all orders sent by him for proprietary articles that the stamps should be furnished with the goods. This step was advised in our last issue. The New Jersey Association, a report of whose proceedings appears in Attitude Our news columns, has taken vigorous stand against the proposition of Congress to limit the stamp tax to medicinal articles and against the proposition of the Proprietary Association to collect the cost from the retail drug trade, for it seemed to be the sense of the Association that an advance in the price by the manufacturers simply meant that the tax must come, not out of the pockets of the people at large, but out of the pockets of that much-abused class, the retail drug trade. That this view of the case is one held by a great many leading druggists is abundantly evidenced by the communications which we print in our news columns N our news columns we print an article on the subject of commissioned rank for pharmacists, written by a veteran of the Civil War, which is deserving of careful consideration. His own experience amply demonstrates the truth of the contention advanced in the editorial on this subject in our last issue. There is no reason whatever that the pharmacist should be singled out as the only soldier to whom is absolutely denied all possibility of rising higher than the grade of a non-commissioned officer and who must hold the same rank from the time he enters until the time he leaves the service. The injustice of the existing regulations is admirably portrayed in the history of Mr. Reute's career, who, as soon as he began to deal out soap and candles, bacon and hardtack, received a commission as lieutenant, which would not be granted after two years of active and efficient service in the much more important duty of dispensing deadly drugs. Now is the time to act in this matter, and every pharmacist and every pharmaceutical organization in this country should agitate this question without cessation until tardy justice to the pharmacists of the Army and Navy is granted. LIQUOR LICENSES I FOR PHARMACISTS. T is interesting to note that licenses have been issued to druggists in many Massachusetts towns which have heretofore refused them. In almost every instance where application has been made, licenses have been granted this year to all who hold the liquor permit of the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy. This action on the part of the local authorities is the strongest possible endorsement of the work of the Board, and indicates that the scrupulous care which has been exercised in the issuance of liquor permits and the careful supervision of the action of holders of such permits by the State Board of Pharmacy is receiving its proper recognition from the public. We have always contended that if the issuing of liquor licenses to druggists were placed in the hands of druggists themselves, there would be no abuse of the privilege, and the history of license legislation in Massachusetts amply confirms this contention. It must be a source of gratification, not only to the Board of Pharmacy of the State of Massachusetts, but to pharmacists everywhere, to find that the safest hands in which to place the supervision of liquor licenses for pharmacists are those of the pharmacist himself. The excellent record made in Massachusetts is an object lesson of value for the guidance of the legislatures of other States in regulating the traffic in intoxicating liquors by retail druggists. Flowering Plants of May and June. HINTS FOR DRUG BOTANISTS. Where to Seek Living Medicines-Medical Lore of the Indians. A BY HELEN INGERSOLL. In the following article Miss Ingersoll describes the plants that may be found in bloom in the vicinity of New York and New Jersey during the months of May and June. The haunts of the plants are indicated, and many interesting notes on the strange uses to which the plants were put by the Indians are given. NUMBER of the medicinal plants for which one searches in May commence to bloom in April. Their flowering season, however, varies so much in different localities, that the first week of May finds many of them, such as the trillium and bloodroot, still in their prime. The edge of a bog, on a hillside, where the black leaf-mould has rotted down into the crevices of the rocks, is a typical haunt of the red-flowered trillium. Its badsmelling, maroon-colored petals, set off finely by the trio of green leaves flaring broadly beneath them, belie the scientific name (Trillium erectum) by nodding, under the gold of the willow blossoms . and of the tufted flowers of the spice bush. Indians' Use of Native Remedies. The Indians, who probably first employed many of the medicines in our pharmacopoeia, although sometimes in a very unorthodox way, such as powdering them and then flinging the dust over the patient's shoulder, were medicinally acquainted with the blue cohosh and the bloodroot. The cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) is a curious plant growing in rocky country, where it anchors itself by a tangled mass of roots. It is tall and glossy, with a purple and greenish coloring, and bearing one large much cutup leaf below the cluster of greenish flowers. On the James River, the Indians discovered an unmedicinal use for the bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis). They employed the "dragon's blood," as the Dutch colonists called it-the orange-colored juice that flows with such astonishing readiness when the brittle texture of the plant is broken, to paint their mats, or, in time of war, their skins, and the North Carolina dames dyed their wools a yellowish red by its coloring matter. Its beautifully white, many-rayed flower, which flattens out as it opens (the bloodroot closes at night), comes up wrapped in a folded, lobed leaf that afterwards grows tall and stalwart. Podophyllum. Another equally white flower, powerfully and disagreeably scented, nods from the forking stems of two deeply lobed leaves. This is the mandrake (Podophyllum peltatum), that lives in open fields at the forest edges, in large colonies. One understands how easily they spread, after digging up the slender knotted rootstocks, that, if traced to the end, require a yardstick for their measurement. Single stems, bearing but one leaf, and no flower cup, wear their green-lobed leaf like an umbrella, with the stalk attached underneath, in the centre. Wild Ginger. The queer wild ginger (Asarum Canadense) prefers the shade of the woods, and affects stone walls and the like, where it shows boldly its pair of velvety heartshaped leaves, but carefully tucks away a purple-brown flower under leafy debris, leaving a loophole for sunshine, however. The thick, brittle root is spicy and ginger-like; so warm, indeed, that the Narragansett Indians used pieces of it for toothache. Odd Name for American Hellebore. If the wild ginger gained a name from the characteristics of the root, so also did the goldthread (Coptis trifolia), with its mesh of golden fibres, enwrapping decayed stumps, which it shares with the star chick-weed. The goldthread bears a number of very low, small leaves, threewhite flowers, whose white sepals promptparted like a strawberry, and some dainty ly fall when touched, leaving a crown of tiny petals standing about the yellow stamens. Near by, for the goldthread is more or less of a bog plant, stands the bright green American hellebore (Veratrum viride), which Josselyn found growstill chooses such a situation. Its leaves ing in wet soil "very black," and which were evidently so closely pleated in the buds that they have never been able to straighten out, and have as many wrinkles as a palm-leaf fan. They are brilliant green, and are crowded closely on the At the top is a large panicle of small greenish flowers, and certainly, to the careless observer, only vaguely suggesting the lily family to which they belong. stem. Josselyn, again, says that it was used by the Indians, as the Cherokees used yaupon, in their ordeals, and the powder ed root was also applied by them for various wounds and aches. Crow-poison is an odd name given to it, which doubtless arose from a habit among the colonists of soaking their maize-seed in a decoction of the root strong enough to render thieving birds drunk, but not to kill them. Calamus. Flag-root (Acorus Calamus) and blueflag (Iris versicolor) grow amicably together in the marshes of the Hackensack (N. J.). The plants, to the uninitiated, are as confusing as the names. Both have stiff sword-shaped leaves, and both have thick rootstocks clinging tenaciously to the mud by means of a mass of fibrous roots. But the flowers are different. A little excrescence, like a catkin, protruding from a leaf-like stem, near the middle, is the spadix of the flag-root or calamus, while the other bears the fleur-de-lys. Nibbling at the roots is the best test. The iris, insipid at first, develops a longlingering acridity, while the calamus bites the tongue fiercely, but leaves a pleasant tang. One is curious to know how the Omaha Indians, who ate the flag-root, prepared it. Old-fashioned ladies among us still candy the rhizome, and eat it like ginger. Certain tribes of Indians, it is said, somehow discovered that the Indian turnip, of the same family as the calamus, and extremely peppery as to its bulb, besides being poisonous when fresh, could · be rendered innocuous by drying and cooking, so added it to their menu. The smooth-topped spadix standing in a green and purple-striped round box with an arched and tapering cover, looks so comically like a speaker under a sounding board, that Jack-in-the-Pulpit is a common name for the flower. It is almost hidden by the pair of trifoliate leaves in the fork of whose stems it is perched. To Tell Poison-Ivy from Virginia Creeper. Those must have been thick-skinned Indians who experimented with the poison-ivy (Rhus toxicodendron), yet they somehow discovered that a decoction of it would make a rich black dye. The most familiar form of the ivy climbs fences and trees, by means of rootlets "raveled out" from the thick stems. One can never reiterate too often that the poison-ivy has only three leaflets, more or less lobed, while the harmless Virginia creeper has five. The shining leaves of the ivy have a dangerous look, but the bunches of greenish tiny blossoms seem innocent enough. Nevertheless, their pollen seems to carry the most virulent irritant in the plant. Among the many cures for ivy poisoning is one given by the Iroquois, and which has proved wholly inefficacious, namely, baked maiden-hair ferns, in lard. The maiden-hair ferns, whose palmate feathery fronds would often fit into the outline of a horseshoe, poised on black wire-like stems, group themselves in the deep shade, where they form a delicate background for the small yellow cypripedium, and the feathery flowers of actaea and aralia. Later, those stiff little evergreens, the wintergreen and the pipsissewa, show their white wax-work flowers in the same locality. The Flowering Trees. But naturally, the flowering trees, parts of which are used for one thing or another in materia medica, are the most conspicuous plants in May. The sassafras (Sassafras variifolium), whose yellow honey-laden tassels gild it long before the mitten-shaped leaves appear, is then always surrounded by a humming crowd of insects. In some districts the young sassafras suckers are a most annoying factor when one is trying to clear the land. A scrap of root an inch long, I firmly believe, will send up a fine young tree in a summer. Queer Superstition Concerning Sassafras. Sassafras roots are always betrayed by their brilliant orange-colored bark, and Inits characteristic odor and flavor. dians used this bark as they did that of the birch and spice bush, for an aromatic beverage, but without fermentation. The roots wander off interminably over and under those of other trees, and when one, in desperation, gives a tug at a root, the whole bark slips off very neatly and leaves a long yellow withe still sticking in the ground. And it is not safe to fling them into the fire, for if they should chance to sputter and crack in the flame it foretells the death of someone present. But this is by-the-way. At any rate, the chestnut roots are always to be depended upon. You can not stir them without an axe. The honey-colored strings of tiny flowers that dangle from these chestnuts furnish the "high lights" of the forest. Still, after the shad-bush, the dogwood (Cornus florida) "brightens the glens' most effectually. Its shelving boughs are laden with square-looking snowy involucres surrounding bunches of small flowers. As someone has said, these involucres show Nature's peculiar notion of occasionally marring her perfect work, since the point of each quarter is puckered and discolored. The other perplexing species of dogwood, which have no flare of white col1arettes, do have very similar foliage, nevertheless, and grow in clumps of slender gray trunks with delicately tinted twigs, The inner bark of some of them entered into the composition of the Indian tobacco-kinnikinic-and was used for fish nets. Liriodendron Tulipifera. The bark of the tulip tree, when it is young, is one of the most showy in the woods. It fits as tightly as that of the polka-dotted brown jacket of the wild cherry near by, and is delightfully glossy and smooth. In color it is gray green, with curious blotches of a lighter shade, that look perfectly dry even when rain water is sliding down the trunk, and the Quaint, leaves are unusual in shape. squarish affairs they are, with angles cut out at the sides and the ends nearly truncate, tinted light green. Both the common and scientific (Liriodendron Tulipifera) names of this tree for a wonder refer to the beautiful flowers it bears-green and yellow chalices shaped like a tulip. The list of medicinal plants blossoming The tiny partin June seems endless. ridge berry, trailing its symmetrical wreath of pairs of leaves and velvety flowers, blooms near the laurel, which has always had a bad name, because it is rumored that it furnishes poisoned honey to the bee. Even the Apaches say that the plant However this will make men crazy. may be, the laurel is not only tolerated, but cultivated, for the sake of its magnificent display of pink and white corymbs of cup-shaped flowers, neatly angled, and with pockets in which the anthers lie hid den, until some blundering insect lands And so the flowers bloom on into the Prize Essay. Brief, bright Essays, on subjects of interest to pharmacists, are invited for this department. For acceptable articles, long or short, the AMERICAN DRUGGIST will give $5.00. THE DRUGGIST PHOTOG- BY C. ARMSTRONG, N the contributions on the subject of AMERICAN cent numbers of the Many who are tempted to take up pho- The primal field of usefulness of the The great charm which attaches to Next in interest to photographs of The lens of the ordinary hand camera, such as is most popular with amateurs, is the result of which is lacking in "depth,' that in taking groups unless the persons composing the group are very carefully The main point for the amateur to obplaced, some of them will be out of focus. serve in this class of work is to have each member of the group as near as possible equally distant from the camera. fect this, the group should be arranged on the arc of a circle of a radius equal to the distance from the central figure of In the group to the lens of the camera. such photographs it is also unwise to endeavor to crowd the plate with figures, as those on the extreme edges of the plate will be more or less distorted. To ef All of these points, however, will be found brought out in the various hand books of photography with which the market is so plentifully supplied. I have found that albums containing specimens of the druggist's art serve a good purpose if placed where those who By sit and wait may look them over. beguiling the time they make the period of waiting seem shorter. When the views and groups are of local scenes or people and are properly labeled, as they always should be, they will prove of interest even if not exceptionally artistic or well executed. In fact, a few technical faults will rather serve to encourage beginners who see that photographs of well-selected subjects may be of interest despite unskillful treatment. How to Use Photographs. He There are many other ways in which the results of the work with the camera may be utilized, one of the most ingenious of which was outlined in a paper published in the AMERICAN DRUGGIST some years ago by Mr. Hostelly.* proposed that the druggist photographer should "take" everything that he could which had any local interest whatever; take photos of picnic parties, public meetings, occasional crowds of any kind and should mount these on cards, on the front of which would appear the name and business of the druggist in a modest, neat type, while the back should bear an advertisement of the store and of any run by the druggist. specialty being These pictures should be prominently displayed, in conjunction with an announcement that the choice of any of them would be given to customers purchasing, say, two dollars' worth of goods. A record of the goods purchased can be kept by giving to each customer a card bearing figures on the margin, which are to be punched to correspond with the amount purchased at different times. When the entire amount settled on, it may be two or two and a half dollars, has been purchased, the punched card is exchanged for any of the photographs desired. Any experience which the druggist may have had in photography will prove a and his customers, and will also place him bond of mutual interest between himself details which will be much appreciated in a position to give advice on technical by beginners. Aside, however, from the commercial advantages of being a photographer as well as a dealer in photographic supplies any druggist who has any artistic impulses whatever will find much pleasure in the pursuit of photography. Potassii citratis Ext. hyoscyami fl. Mucilaginis acaciae Syrupi 2 drs. 5 Gm. 6 fl. drs. 15 Cc. 6 drs. 15 Cc. of each 4 fl. drs. 10 Cc. 80 Cc. Spir. menthae piperitae q. s. ad 4 fl. ozs. In 100 Pills. 100 grs. 6.5 Gm. 100 grs. 6.5 Gm. 100 grs. 6.5 Gm. PILULAE GASTRICAE (THOMSON). Thomson's Gastric Pills. In 100 Pills. Argenti nitratis 161⁄2 grs. 1.07 Gm. Zinci oxidi 50 grs. 3.2 Gm. Bismuthis subnitratis 200 grs. 13.0 Gm. Dose: 1 pill. Note. To prevent decomposition of the silver nitrate, petrolatum should be used as excipient, and kaolin or chalk as diluent. PULVIS DEPILATORIUS. Barii sulphidi Depilatory. Tritici farinae Aquae 3 parts. 1 part. q. s. For removing hair from the skin, previous to operations. Note. The barium sulphide must be as fresh as possible, and not have become oxydized by exposure to air. The mixed powders are to be made into a paste with water, and applied in a moderately thick layer to the parts to be denuded of hairs, the excess of the latter having previously been trimmed off with the scissors. From time to time a small part of the surface should be examined, and when it is seen that the hair can be removed, the mass should be washed off. PULVIS PRO CORYZA. Thomson's Snuff. Ammonii carbonatis 1 Gm. Ferri et ammonii citratis of each 15 grs. Tinct. gentianae co.. 1 Gm. Mentholis 30 Cc. Tinct. quassiae of each 1 fl. oz. Syrupi 30 Cc. 6 fl. drs. 25 Cc. Sodi bicarb... of each 2 grs. Cocaine hydrochlor.. Aquae q. s. ad 4 fl. ozs. 120 Cc. PILULAE ACONITINAE. Note.-Owing to the great difference in potency which exists among the various aconitines of the market, it is necessary for the prescriber to designate the kind or brand of aconitine he wants dispensed, and the exact quantity thereof. The most potent is the crystallized alkaloid aconitine, also known as Duquesnel's aconitine, the dose of which ought, as a rule, never to exceed 1-200 grain (0.0003 Gm.). prescribing it is best to write: "Aconitinae, cryst., Duquesnel," so that the dispenser may know exactly what is meant. Aconite pills should never be dispensed, unless the exact quantity represented by each pill is mentioned in the prescription. In 0.13 Gm. 0.13 Gm. 0.26 Gm. 0.26 Gm. 12.00 Gm. Magnesii carb. of each 4 grs. Sacchari lactis ......180 grs. To be used as snuff, occasionally. ESTIMATION OF ALKALOIDS TRACTS.* A New and Simple Process Avoiding the Use of Heat. The number of methods in use at the present time for determining the alkaloidal value of galenical preparations, a very practical classification of which, by E. Schmidt, appeared only recently, has again been augmented by a new procedure. J. Katz (Arch. d. Pharm. 1898, I), has perfected a method which enables an estimation of alkaloids, without necessitating the application of heat for purposes of evaporation, nor for any other purpose, during the process. The fact that a considerable quantity of the alkaloid, even at the relatively low temperature of the water bath, undergoes decomposition readily, is well known. This has necessitated the introduction of various devices for facilitating evaporation at low temperature, and in vacuo, on the part of the manufacturing pharmacist. Analysis of tinctures and extracts containing alkaloids must on this account be carried on under the same precautions, viz.: concentration in vacuo, or in a desiccator, if a loss of alkaloid, with its consequent error in result of determination, is to be avoided. Such procedure, however, is necessarily tedious, and is not practical in many instances. Besides this objection, the fact that few pharmacists are possessors of the necessary apparatus (vacuum exsiccator, and air pump at least) must be taken into consideration. An alkaloidal determination after the method of Katz can, on the contrary, be completed in a comparatively short period of time, not more than one to one and a half hours being required. The method, with accuracy and care in manipulation, yields very satisfactory results, as the many examples, quoted by the author in relation to his contribution relative to the subject, will show. Among the more familiar methods that of Hilger (Pharm. Zeit. 1893, 75) approaches most closely that of the author, differing, however, from it in several essential particulars. Hilger's method requires a solution of the extract in 45 per cent alcohol, and a subsequent extractum of this solution, by shaking with chloroform after addition of ammonia water, using three separate portions of the former. If this procedure be employed in the case of homeopathic essences, which may be said to represent solutions of extracts in 45 per cent alcohol, it is found that on shaking with the second portion of chloroform, gelatinization often occurs, thus causing an unnecessary loss of time. Besides this, the solution or liquid in which the titration is to be carried out is always highly colored. The method of Katz avoids these difficulties, and is carried on in the following manner: 25 Cc. of a tincture of an alcoholic strength of about 45 per cent are placed in a separating funnel and after the addition of 1 Cc. of a 33 per cent soda solution, is thoroughly shaken for 5 minutes with 50 Cc. of ether. Set aside and when the liquid has separated into layers, draw off the lower dark-colored aqueous layer and col * Translated for the AMERICAN DRUGGIST from Pharmaceutische Zeitung. lect it in a beaker glass. The ethereal layer, which, besides the alkaloid, has taken up most of the alcohol and some coloring matter, is now shaken with 3 Cc. of water in one portion; set aside and after separation is complete draw off the aqueous layer and add it to the aqueous liquid first obtained; the ethereal layer, which has given up most of its coloring matter to the water is then poured into any suitable flask. The combined aqueous residue is further treated and shaken with two separate portions of ether-25 Cc. eachthe ether to contain 10 per cent of alcohol. The ethereal extractions obtained as resultants are then washed each with 1.5 Cc. water. Dehydration of the ethereal solutions is very essential, because, although seemingly clear, the solutions nevertheless hold in suspension minute quantities of the soda solution used. The dehydration is accomplished by shaking the solution with 2-3 Gm. of exsiccated calcium sulphate, finally filtering into a glass stoppered flask in which are contained 50 Cc. of water. The third portion shaken out, which contains only a mere trace of alkaloid, should not be mixed with the two portions first obtained, but reserved, and later on employed for washing the flask. The solution is then passed through a filter to remove any adhering alkaloid, thus avoiding any loss whatever. Titration by means of N-100 acid, after the method of Partheil, is employed; iodeosin in alcoholic solution (1:250), about 3 drops, being used as indicator. This method differs from all others in that the application of heat is avoided during the entire proceeding, thus avoiding any loss of alkaloid by decomposition either during the process of evaporation in case of a tincture, or during the process of driving off the ethereal solvent, which both are adjuncts of the older methods. Obviously, the method as above described is only applicable to such alkaloids as are readily soluble in ether. If an estimation of alkaloids, insoluble or only slightly so, in ether, but soluble in chloroform is to be made, the method is modified as follows: 25 Cc. of tincture of 45 per cent alcoholic strength are vigorously shaken for five minutes with 30 Cc. of a mixture consisting of 1 part of chloroform and 2 parts of ether. The solution so obtained is washed with 3 Cc. of a 30 per cent Na Cl solution. This operation is repeated twice, using on each occasion 15 Cc. of the ether-chloroform mixture, and 1.5 Cc. of Na Cl solution in the same manner as already described. Should the separation of the ether-chloroform layer from the aqueous one after the first shaking not be sharp and distinct, it will be well to add an additional 2-3 Gm. Na Cl, after which prompt separation will be insured. Any emulsification which occurs prevents a sharp division between the layers, and as this is very liable to occur in chloroformic solu tions, when shaken with water alone, a solution of Na C1 is employed in the process just described. If an insufficient amount of Na Cl be used emulsification will occur, but is easily remedied by the addition of more Na Cl, otherwise a rather tedious treatment with exsiccated calcium sulphate becomes necessary. If a quantitative determination of alkaloid in tinctures containing more than 45 per cent of alcohol is to be made, it becomes necessary to add water in sufficient quantity so as to reduce the alcohol value to 40-50 per cent. Tinctures containing chlorophyll or fat or fatty acids must first be deprived of these constituents before the assay process is begun, otherwise incorrect results will be obtained. Thus a portion of the chlorophyll and fatty acids saponifies readily with an alkali in an etheralcoholic solution, and remains in the ethereal layer. As both chlorophyll and the fatty acids possess acid properties much inferior to those of the iodeosin, the salts act the part of an alkali toward them and in consequence excessive results are obtained. To remove the chlorophyll and fatty acids acidulate a mixture of equal parts of the tincture and water with a few drops of sulphuric acid; shake with talcum during several hours, at intervals, and after subsidence filter. Of this filtrate 25 Gm. (not Cc., on account of addition of mixture of alcohol and water causing change in volume) are taken and the alkaloid estimated in the manner already described, after first removing, if necessary, the last traces of fat by a single shaking of the acid solution with an equal volume of petroleum ether. For the assay of extracts, hard or soft, Katz has modified his method as follows: 1-1.5 Gm of extract is dissolved in from 40-50 Cc. of 45 per cent alcohol to make a solution containing less than 3 per cent of extractive. This is now shaken in the manner previously indicated, first with 50 Cc. and then successively with 2 portions of 25 Cc. each of ether, after the addition of soda solution. ditional number which have received more or less mention as possessing medicinal properties. The last mentioned class is not considered in my list. It is not to be supposed that commercial importance attaches to the occurrence of all these species. As a matter of fact, comparatively little drug collecting is done in this State, a fact which is due to a variety of adverse conditions. It is, however, important to have on record something to indicate what plants find here a congenial soil and clime, so that in the future, when doubtless the cultivation of medicinal plants must be largely resorted to, we may be able to ascertain which of them are suited to cultivation within our borders. We print below the names of the more interesting of these plants, card specimens of which were shown by the author, and also present his comment on them. The total list numbers, as stated above, about 200. Hydrastis Canadensis L. Golden Seal.-Occasionally collected in the North during the early history of botany in the State, but not now known. Cimicifuga Racemosa (L.) Nutt. Black Cohosh.-Very common and abundant in rich rocky woods of the middle district, especially in trap-rock soil. Occasional to frequent in other sections. This is one of the handsomest wild flowers of the State. At least seven species occur in the United States, and no comparative studies have been made of their pharmacognosy or properties. If the latter are not identical, we have no guide to identification of the unofficial species, should they be collected and marketed. The fact that only the official species occurs in this State would render certain the identity of any material collected here. L. Menispermum Canadense Moonseed. THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF This has about the same range as Cimicifuga, NEW JERSEY.* BY PROF. H. H. RUSBY, New York College of Pharmacy. In introducing the paper the author informed the audience that it represented an attempt to enumerate with approximate completeness the more important medicinal plants of New Jersey, giving their distribution in the State, noting especially those which occur in the vicinity of the place where this meeting is being held, and offering suggestions of interest concerning a number of them. These suggestions relate more especially to certain deficiencies in our knowledge, and indicate directions in which the members of the Association may be able to obtain needed information. The facts presented are the results of very extensive personal field work by the author in the State, and are supplemented chiefly by the records accumulated by Dr. Britton and published in his "Catalogue of the Plants of New Jersey," forming a part of the Report of the State Geologist, Vol. II., 1889. Many comments have been published upon the great extent and diversity of the New Jersey flora, considering the small area represented, a result of its extension in a north and south direction, of its extensive littoral and of an unusual diversity in soil. We have nearly 2,000 species of flowering plants growing wild in the State. Of the 200, or thereabout, plants which are made official by the U. S. P., and which represent the universal flora, no less than 83, or about 40 per cent, occur growing without cultivation in New Jersey, and of these 60 are found within a radius of 10 or 15 miles of Summit. Besides these official plants, the State produces from 125 to 150 others of some commercial importance, and a large ad Abstract of a paper read before the New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association. and grows with it. The gross appearance of the rhizome found in market, coming from Texas, is so different from that which I have collected hereabout, as to lead to the suspicion that careful study may determine these as distinct species. Podophyllum Peltatum L. Mandrake.-Occasional in the southern and common in the northern parts of the State. Abundant as it is, it could not be collected in competition with the west, where acres of it in a single locality can be turned out by the plow. Sanguinaria Canadensis L. Bloodroot.-Common and abundant except in the southern districts, where it is occasional. One of our most beautiful spring flowers. It is probable that the Pharmacopoeia is in error in directing tha this be "collected in autumn.' It flowers in earliest spring, matures its seed and perishes quickly, the remains of its aerial tissues disappearing rapidly. It is doubtful if any trace o its existence could be found in the autumn, su that to find and collect it at that season is probably impracticable. Polygala Senega L. Senega.-The occurrence of this species as one of the rarest plants of the State, formerly abundant, is an illustration of the possibility of exterminating a useful species when unaided nature is trusted with its perpetuation. Saponaria Officinalis L. Soaproot.-Very common and abundant along roadsides. The roots obtained from the plant here have a totally dif ferent appearance from those which are im ported. Geranium Maculatum L. Geranium.-One of the commonest and most abundant of our wild plants, and admirably adapted to collection for medicinal purposes. Euonymus Atropurpureus Jacq. Waahoo.This valuable plant occurs in quite a number of localities along the Passaic and other streams, and flourishes well. Rhamnus Frangula L. Buckthorn.-Several years ago it was found that an unrecorded species of Rhamnus grew in the swamps near New Durham, and also at several points in Long Island. It was at first supposed to be an undescribed species, but was subsequently identified as R. Frangula, and it was concluded that it had probably escaped from the ancient botanical garden of Michaux, which was located at New Durham. Rubus Villosus Ait. High-Bush Blackberry.Both these official blackberries are common and abundant throughout. I am strongly of the opinion that the bark of the root of the former cannot be collected commercially, owing to mechanical difficulties, and I should favor its deletion from the official definition. Agrimonis. A number of species occur abundantly throughout the State. The genus has re |