It is now necessary to graduate the ground glass by making two pencil marks (Nos. 1 and 2). The instrument is now ready for use.

The graduated ground glass should be turned toward the observer; a candle, or small electric lamp, must now be placed opposite the clear glass window (2 or 3 yards away), so that a sharp shadow of the movable leaf is thrown on the ground glass.

Always charge the electroscope until the leaf stands slightly higher than No. 1, then note the time required for a fall from 1 to 2; this is the constant of the instrument for the particular room in which it is being used; it may take several hours, but if it falls in less than half an hour there must be a considerable leak over the sulphur, or there is some radio-active material in the room, or it may be in the next room. To prove the sensitiveness of the instrument, place a Welsbach mantle about 31⁄2 inches from the charged wire; the leaf should then drop from 1 to 2 in about 60 seconds.

Place a 5 Mgm. glass tube of radium bromide a yard away, then charge the wire and notice the drop is too fast to be properly timed, therefore the sample should be slowed down by being inclosed in a metal case (a 1-pound jujube tin is very suitable) place the radium in the tin, touching one side (raised about 1⁄2 inch from the bottom), let it be held in place by cotton wool; put on the lid of this box and place it exactly a yard away from the electroscope, and on a level with the wire; now charge the wire as before, and if the radium is pure the drop will take place in about the same time as it did with the mantle when it was 31⁄2 inches distant.

A thorium mantle is far from being an ideal standard of radio-activity for several reasons, which cannot now be explained, besides being variable; but a very rough idea can be obtained in this way. I am trying to devise a more satisfactory standard, but, of course, the best standard is a tube of radium which is known to be pure. If a pure sample produces the drop in 60 seconds, and another sample takes 120 seconds under the same conditions, the second specimen is clearly only half the value of the pure bromide; if it takes 180 seconds, it is only one-third the strength, and so on; it is therefore very easy to compare samples with each other with considerable accuracy. I use Buchler's preparations as standards.

The above method does not serve to measure the total radiation from radium, the Alpha rays never get through the glass. For therapeutic use, therefore, we are only concerned with the Beta and Gamma rays, both of which are thus measured indirectly by the amount of ionization which they produce in air, and this is by far the most delicate and certain test that can be relied on.

In a contribution to a later issue of the Pharmaceutical Journal Mr. Shaw reviews the principles involved in the action of the radium on the electroscope. He also suggests that in testing tubes of radium they be placed in a lead pipe bent in double curve, something like this , so that all the straight

rays will be cut off by the curves of the pipe. Then standing with the mouth of the pipe about 3 feet away from the electroscope and directed toward it, and blow through the tube. This forces out the air within the pipe, which has been ionized by contact with the radium tube, and the impact of this ionized air on the electroscope discharges that instrument. The quantitative results obtained by Mr. Glew have been remarkably accurate.

The Function of the Liver.

At the recent meeting of the Northeastern Dental Association Dr. Edward C. Kirk, of Philadelphia, in the course of a discussion on Neurasthenic Conditions in the Oral Cavity," gave an interesting résume of the cause of the presence of certain abnormal chemical substances in the saliva. He went on to say, among other things, that it had been shown that muscular stiffness, for example, is due to the damming up in the muscular tissue of sarcolactic acid. The destination of this acid in the normal process of nutrition was not clearly understood until very recently. We knew it was made, but could not tell what became of it. It was never found in the normal secretions. The Chemist Minkowski accidentally stumbled upon what became of

the lactic acid in making experiments upon geese in his search to determine the functions of the liver. When the liver of the goose was extirpated he found this remarkable thing, that whereas the normal goose excretes large quantities of uric acid in the form of urates in the normal secretions, as soon as the liver was extirpated lactic acid and ammonia were excreted in the quantitative proportion to form ammonium lactate. This discovery was interesting and important, because it demonstrated the fact that one of the functions of the liver was to convert this ammonium lactate into uric acid, and when the liver improperly performed its function we found these lactates forced back into circulation. Before this discovery we suspected that this lactic acid was formed in the intestines, mouth, and urinary tract by the invasion of the lactic acid bacilli, but we now know that when these lactates appear in the stomach it points to an inefficiency on the part of the liver to perform its function. And in these cases where we find these nervous disturbances you will find an excessive amount of lactic acid in the mouth and in the urine. When you find one of these characteristic neurotic livers you will find the saliva full of lactic acid. It is that sort of thing that makes me think that the affection of neurasthenia is due to malnutrition.

Outdoor Exhibit of Medical Plants Made by the Bureau of Plant Industry at St. Louis.

One of the features at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of interest to the student of medicine and pharmacy is the outdoor exhibit of the office of Drug and Medicinal Plant Investigations of the United States Department of Agriculture, made under the direction of Rodney H. True, physiologist in charge.

This exhibit comprises growing specimens of various medicinal plants, some of them native species which are gradually becoming scarcer and therefore more valuable, some simply ordinary weeds that can be picked up on almost any farm, for which, however, there is considerable demand. A few foreign drug plants, of which we are now importing large quantities and which could be cultivated in this country as well as abroad, are also introduced.

The area devoted to medicinal plants consists of a strip of land 180 feet long by 40 feet wide. This is laid off in 47 plats, each measuring about 13 feet in length by 7 feet in width, with walks between the beds affording easy access to the plats for purposes of closer scrutiny and examination. The labels give the common and scientific names of the plants, the parts employed in medicine, and their properties.

The plants are arranged in their natural sequence according to the now generally accepted Engler and Prantl system. Thus, the grass family occupies the first position in the field and includes in this exhibit the most valuable member and one of the most worthless, from the farmer's standpoint-namely, corn and couch grass, the corn starch and silk furnished by the former being used in medicine, and the running root stock of the latter, a source of much trouble to the farmer, also possessing medicinal properties.

Golden seal, a native plant for the root of which a great demand exists and which brings a good price, will also be found here, as well as another plant which has caused a flurry in the market on account of short supply-namely, the Cascara sagrada tree, the bark of which is employed medicinally.

Yellow dock, pokeweed, mustard, jimson weed, burdock and dandelion, well known as weeds in one part of the country or another, are here growing in a state of cultivation. Aconite, belladonna, henbane and digitalis, all poisonous narcotic herbs, now occurring principally in Europe and imported into this country in large quantities, are also shown.

The mint family, the members of which furnish volatile oils, is well represented by such fragrant herbs as lavender, pennyroyal, sage, summer savory, thyme, peppermint and spearmint.

The opium poppy, licorice, castor-oil plant, hops, valerian, tansy, worm seed, worm wood, and many other plants more or less important as drugs, are grown in this garden.

The different parts of these plants, prepared as they are found in the drug trade, are shown in the indoor exhibit of the Bureau of Plant Industry, as are also some of the active principles obtained from them.

What Is Absorption in the Pathological Sense?—W. F. Y. asks us to tell him whether, when a swelling on a horse is made to disappear through the use or application of a liniment or other external application, "it is absorbed in the true sense of the word, or is carried away and unloaded somewhere else."

This question was submitted for answer to Dr. Frank P. Foster, author of "Foster's Encyclopædic Medical Dictionary' and editor of the New York and Philadelphia Medical Journal, who makes the following reply:

"It is both absorbed and carried away and unloaded somewhere else,' the absorption being the primary step. Although 'unloaded,' it is not, as your questioner seems to imply, deposited elsewhere as a morbid mass still affecting the horse, but is got rid of by the animal's emunctories."

When the Revised “U. S. Dispensatory" May Be Looked For.-M. R. M. writes: "Would you please inform me when the next" U. S. Dispensatory "will be published; also Remington's "Practice of Pharmacy"?

This inquiry was referred to Professor Remington, who replies as follows:

66

"It is impossible for me to tell you when the next edition of the "Practice of Pharmacy" or 'United States Dispensatory" will appear. I have answered this question so many times that I am afraid I shall have to engage an extra secretary. It is not likely that any of the text books will appear before the Pharmacopoeia, which will probably be issued in October. After that it will probably be six months or thereabouts before the books appear; but this is largely guess work."

Why Does This Mixture Precipitate?-C. R. B. sends the subjoined prescription and asks us to state the cause of precipitation observed in the finished mixture:

causes.

There is the possibility here of precipitation from two It is well known that quinine sulphate in combination with tincture of ferric chloride frequently throws down a sediment, the bulkiness of which often depends upon the amount of alcohol present. Hence it is that quinine hydrochloride is a preferable salt to use in combination with ferric chloride. The other possible cause of precipitation here is the mercuric chloride, which invariably throws down quinine salts, except under certain conditions, such as the absence of free acids. Alkaloidal precipitates thrown down by mercuric chloride may us tally be redissolved by the addition of a little hydrochloric acid.

Iodoform Gauze.-W. R. G. asks how iodoform gauze may be quickly prepared in small quantities.

The method recommended by the late Dr. Charles Rice, and which is cited in the Hospital Formulary of the Department of Charities, is as follows:

If a gauze of a definite percentage of iodoform is required, place the proper amount of iodoform into a suitable basin, and add to it the glycerin and alcohol. See the proportions given below. Mix the iodoform thoroughly with the liquid, so that a perfectly homogeneous mixture, free from lumps, may result. Then incorporate the mixture into the proper amount of gauze, layer upon layer, wringing the liquid out and taking it up again, until the iodoform is uniformly distributed, without any of it being left behind. Spread the gauze out on a table covered with an impervious fabric and rendered aseptic by means of bichloride solution (1 in 1,000); smooth out the impregnated gauze, and then fold it in any manner most suitable. Next wrap it in sterilized paraffin paper, and lastly in sterilized oiled muslin, and place it in jars which are to be tightly closed.

It is not a good plan to take the iodoform by measure, on the basis of some previous determination of the weight of a given volume. Iodoform, as made by different manufacturers, or even by the same manufacturer at different times, varies considerably in volume for the same weight. Hence a pound of it will sometimes occupy the space of only àbout 10 fluid ounces, while at other times it will measure 11, 12 or even 13 fluid ounces. For this reason it is always best to weigh it. To make iodoform gauze of the below stated strength use: Absorbent gauze (dry)..... .....475 grains. Iodoform. The below given amount.

In adjusting these proportions it is assumed that all the alcohol will be lost by evaporation. A 50 per cent. gauze in that case will contain 475 grains of gauze, 1 fluid ounce or 570 grains of glycerin, and 1,045 grains of iodoform. It is assumed that a gauze has been taken which weighs 475 grains to the yard. If its weight differs from this, the proportions of the ingredients must be altered, if it is desired to take the gauze by measure instead of by weight.

If the amount of liquid for the higher percentages is found insufficient, a little sterilized water may be added to give the mixture the proper degree of fluidity.

In place of using ordinary alcohol (ethyl or grain alcohol), refined wood alcohol will be found more economical.

Two New Reactions for Acetanilid.-E. Barral (Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, March 1, 1904, p. 237) gives the following two reactions for the identification of acetanilid: (1) The Phosphomolybdic Test-Phosphomolybdic acid prepared in the form of the usual reagent, when added to a solution of acetanilid, gives a bright yellow precipitate, soluble on heating the mixture. Phenacetin gives also a yellow precipitate, but this is not soluble by heat. (2) Mandelin's reagent added to a solution of acetanilid produces a red color which rapidly merges into a brownish green. With phenacetin the color is an olive green which becomes red on heating.

The Use of Acacia in Compounding.-Astruc and Robert (Bulletin de Pharmacie du Sud-Est, December, 1903,) found that the addition of gum acacia to mixtures often prevented an incompatibility when certain preparations are combined. For example, if a mixture be made consisting of the syrup of iron iodide of the French Codex, and of the wine of cinchona, the mixture remains clear. But if a syrup be used which is prepared without acacia the preparation becomes cloudy.

The extract of cinchona usually gives cloudy mixtures, but if a little acacia be added to it, clear mixtures may be obtained. This limpidity persists even when such an extract is added to incompatible substances, such as vegetable infusions, caffeine, antipyrine, pyramidon camphorate, chlorides, bromides, iodides, glycerophosphates, arsenical compounds, etc. If the wine of cinchona be allowed to stand, there will be a cloudiness and later a deposit. This may be avoided by adding one or two grammes of acacia to the liter of the wine. The wine of cinchona produces precipitates, if not immediately, then after a short time, when other wines, such as that of rhubarb, colombo, wormwood, kola, etc., are added to it. If one-half of one per cent of acacia be added to the wine of cinchona before these additions, the precipitate is avoided. The ferruginous wine of cinchona of the Codex, which is at first clear, soon deposits a sediment. This may be avoided by adding to the

wine 30 per cent. of simple syrup, 10 per cent. of glycerin, or 1 per cent. of gum acacia.

Wine of cinchona always produces a precipitate when mixed with sodium arsenate, sodium methylarsenate, Fowler's solution, etc. If 1 per cent. of gum acacia be added to this wine, these precipitates do not occur. The author concludes that the addition of small amounts of acacia offers a very useful means of avoiding many disagreeable incompatibilities, without changing materially the composition of the preparations in question.

The Purification of Drinking Water for the Army in the Field.-Vaillard and Georges, in a report to the Technical Sanitary Committee of the French Army (Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, March 1, 1904, p. 267) recommend a method of purifying water in the field for an army and in various emergencies. The method must be simple, inexpensive and rapid. Boiling and the use of filters are not to be thought of in these circumstances, and chemical methods of purification are the only ones that may be considered. In Austria and in Germany, calcium chloride or bromine is added to the water, but these methods are not satisfactory. The authors found that free idoine kills germs very rapidly, and the question was how to liberate this sediment in the water. For this purpose tartaric acid is allowed to react upon sodium iodate in the presence of potassium iodide. When the iodine has done its work, it is neutralized by means of sodium hyposulphite. In practice the following routine is adopted: The man in charge of the water supply for each detachment receives three packages of compressed tablets. One package contains compressed tablets of potassium iodide and sodium iodate, colored with methylene blue. In this package each tablet contains 0.1156 gramme of a mass made for one hundred tablets, consisting of ten grammes of potassium iodide and 1.156 grammes of dry sodiumiodate. The second package, of red tablets, contains 100 tablets each containing 0.01 gramme of tartaric acid. A Third package, of white tablets, consists of 100 doses of 0.116 gramme each, of sodium hyposulphite. A rapid filtration of the drinking water is desirable before it is purified chemically.

Correspondence.

Atlanta College of Pharmacy Dates from 1891. To the Editor:

SIR, I notice on page 199 of the Aprill 11 issue of the AMERICAN DRUGGIST a statement that the Atlanta College of Pharmacy was established in 1901. It was established in 1891, and every catalogue so states. As I assisted in the organization when it first started, I am well acquainted with the dates. Your correction of this matter will be much appreciated.

We have had an attendance of over 100 students every year for several years past, and the success of our students has been remarkable. We do not believe there is any other institution in the country paying more attention to the practical side of the drug business, and those things from which success in business is secured. Our free dispensary alone gives the students a tremendous amount of actual dispensing, and the prescriptions are written by the most prominent physicians in the city. We compound in the free dispensary of the college between 20,000 and 30,000 every session. This does not count the thousands of prescriptions compounded in the pharmaceutical laboratory. We received a letter from a member of a Pharmacy Board in another State only a few days ago, saying that among the best prepared men who came up before them were those from the Atlanta College of Pharmacy.

We are doing everything in our power to build up a better recognition among the public for pharmacy and pharmacists, and feel we have done much in this work, as there is a growing tendency in our section to only take men in the stores who already understand the business. This is naturally an excellent condition of things. Our college has just closed for the summer, and we have already received a number of letters from the junior class, saying their positions had been secured on account of their having taken one course in the Atlanta College of Phar

macy, although in some of the States from which these letters came the requirements are four years' practical experience before one was allowed to go up for examination by the board. We are hoping that the colleges of pharmacy over the country will get together in a liberal spirit and pull for the great good of pharmacy and pharmacists. There is a fine work lying ready for them to take up and push forward. Some of the colleges seem to be sleeping over their opportunities, or little jealousies are preventing their general co-operation in some cases. GEORGE F. PAYNE.

ATLANTA, GA., April 18, 1904.

Book Reviews.

DER ANGEHENDE APOTHEKER. Lehrbuch der pharmazeutischen Hilfswissenschaften zum Gebrauch für den Unterricht der Eleven. Von Prof. Dr. J. Berendes. Zwei Bände. I Band: Physik und Chemie. Dritte vermehrte und verbesserte Auflage, mit 163 Holzschnitten und 1 Spektraltafel. Stuttgart: Verlag von Ferdinand Enke. 1903. (Price 12 marks.) The thoroughness of the German methods of teaching pharmacy is excellently exemplified in Berendes's "The Beginner in Pharmacy," of which Vol. I, treating of physics and chemistry, is now before us. The student is first made familiar with the general properties of force and matter by brief yet comprehensive summaries of the phenomena of expansion, cohesion, capillarity, diffusion and crystallization. He is then made acquainted with the principles of gravity and the workings of the balance, and he is expected thus early in his course to be able to explain the mysteries of hydrostatics, dynamics, heat, light, sound, magnetism and-the workings of the telephone! For the German student all this is made rather alluring than otherwise with the aid of explanatory wood cuts, which, we may remark in passing, possess a higher art value than most cuts of their class and do really illustrate the text. Some 119 of the entire 600 pages of the work are used to expound the science of physics, the remainder being taken up with the teaching of pharmaceutical chemistry, which in this volume includes the thorough study of both inorganic and organic chemistry. The 246 pages which are given up to inorganic chemistry form a complete treatise on the subject.

The organic section of the volume-that relating to the chemistry of the carbon compounds-represents the most comprehensive study of the subject that is to be found in any modern textbook of pharmacy, and furnishes the best of evidence of the author's intimacy with the requirements of pharmacy, for he never appears to allow himself to forget that his work is for the pharmaceutical student; for a modern student, too; one who is to qualify himself for the duties of an expert in all kinds of pharmacognostic and analytical work. It will be evident from what we have said that the author does not confine himself to substances that are official in the pharmacopoeias, and, of course, the work would not be the complete treatise in pharmaceutical chemistry it is if it were SO limited. It is the appearance of works such as this and others of German authorship which have been recently noticed in these columns that makes a knowledge of the German language so increasingly necessary to students of pharmacy. Candor compels us to say that Germany's contributions to pharmaceutical science both outclass and outnumber those of any other nation.

THE GAZETTE POCKET SPELLER AND DEFINER. English and Medical. Second edition. New York: The Gazette Publishing Company, 903 Fifth avenue. (50 cents.) Practical utility appears to have been the governing idea of the compiler of this handy little volume. By a skillful selection of type it has been possible to include an extraordinary large number of words in a book that slips easily into the vest pocket, and in which the use of an exceedingly readable heavy faced type for the words defined makes reference agreeable, despite the smallness of the body type. Pharmacists and drug clerks who have frequent occasion to refer to medical terms will find the Gazette Speller and Definer particularly useful.

BUSINESS BUILDING

By W. A. DAWSON

Under this head will appear suggestions and plans for increasing trade, advertising experiences, information, and notes of interest useful to the pharmacist in the preparation of his advertising matter. Specimens of current advertising will be reproduced, with suggestive analysis and criticism, and queries relative to advertising matters will be answered. To avoid delay address communications to the Department of Business Building, AMERICAN DRUGGIST, 66 West Broadway, N. Y.

WHAT TO ADVERTISE IN MAY.

May is the month for house cleaning, painting, papering refurnishing and for generally repairing and fixing up pretty much everything from the household and business establishment to our own personal "intimate innards." "Seasonable goods" for window displays are therefore all such things as may be useful to the housewife in her "spring cleaning"detergents, from borax to silver soap; floor polishes, varnishes and wax finishes; furniture polish; gold and silver paints; white and colored enamels, prepared pastes, glues, cements, dyes and colored lacquers, etc.

Insectides for house and garden are now wanted-camphor, "tar camphor," insect powder, cedar oil and wood, tar paper and all the vast tribe of roach powders and bedbug killers.

White hellibore, paris green, whale oil soap, sulphur, lime, blue vitriol and ready made spray solutions will be largely used in farming districts and fruit growing sections. Spray solu

tions made up in concentrated form or the dog ingredients in proper proportion with printed directions for mixing can be made a good paying line in a small farm section. Where holdings are large and farming or fruit growing is done on a large scale spraying chemicals are bought direct in large lots or through local druggists at so close a figure as to barely pay handling costs.

This month is also the harvest season for the suburban druggist, who stocks paints, varnishes and wall paper, and these should be kept well to the fore and price concessions made on the slow sellers and to close out odds and ends.

There are many things in the drug store that are useful in house cleaning work that neither the druggist nor housewife is apt to think of. Go through the stock and dig them out: put a small group of each article in the show window with a small card on each giving the name, uses and price. Be sure to ticket each and every kind of article whether it be a little mound of borax or group of some proprietary bug powder; these cards are the most important part of displays of this kind.

While the display is on, advertise the goods in your newspaper space. Just a list of articles and prices with a word of introduction if space allows.

Include your "blood purifier" in display-give it the "center of the stage "—with card that tells of the necessity of cleaning out the system at this time, and give a similar argument briefly in a trailer to your newspaper ad.

Criticism and Comment.

The fault in the following ad. will not be seen by the casual reader; but not one in a thousand will read three lines of it. Their eyes will mechanically shift to some other spot near by. The reason is that the body matter is printed in regular Gothic caps, quite the hardest thing to read of any plain printing matter, and entirely unsuited for a news ad.

Body matter-or "solid composition "-set all in capitals is always hard to read, no matter what style of letter is used. A "regular Gothic all caps" style of composition may sometimes be used successfully on a circular letter or brief announcement,

OUR 'PHONE'S WORKING

FOR YOU. ANY TIME YOU NEED SOMETHING WE CAN
SUPPLY, DON'T HESITATE TO CALL US UP. IT WILL
BE A PLEASURE TO US TO BE OF SERVICE TO YOU.
WE CARRY ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE FOUND
IN THE DRUG TRADE: THE LARGEST AND MOST COM-
PLETE STOCK IN THE CITY. WE ASK NO FANCY
PRICES, AND EXTRA SERVICE COSTS YOU NOTHING
EXTRA. THE NUMBER OF OUR 'PHONES IS 135 AND
IT WILL BE A GOOD IDEA FOR YOU TO MAKE A NOTE
OF IT.
3 STAMPS FOR 5 CENTS.

Marsh's Drug Store,

THIRD AND BELLE STREETS, ALTON, ILL.

Ten years ago the injection of salt water as a restorative to patients dying from loss of blood aroused general interest. The discovery of the quality of salt water probably suggested to the French savant, M. Quinton, a long and patient research concerning salt water, the conclusion of which throws unexpected light on and adds support to the Darwinian theory of evolution. M. Quinton maintains that sea water is the natural source from which, as Professor Haeckel believes, elementary bodies rise which develop into all the species, including the human. The environment wherein the anatomical elements of living creatures exist is neither more nor less than a marine one. Our tissues and cells continue to exert their functions in a fluid, the composition of which bears the closest resemblance to that of sea water.-New York Sun.

SOUTHERN WHOLESALE DRUGGISTS MEET.

Two Days' Convention at New Orleans-The Whole South Represented-New Members Elected.

New Orleans, La., May 2, 1904.-After transacting a great deal of business and electing officers, the Southern Wholesale Drugists' Association, which held a two-day convention in New Orleans, Wednesday and Thursday, April 20 and 21, adjourned Thursday afternoon to meet again in New Orleans the day preceding the opening of the National Wholesale Druggists' Association convention, which will be held here in November. Some 30 druggists prominent as the leading wholesalers of the South took part in the proceedings, which were conducted with a great show of secrecy behind closed doors in the banquet hall of the St. Charles Hotel.

OFFICERS ELECTED.

The election of officers resulted in the unanimous election of "Uncle Dan" Phillips, of Nashville, to the presidency. He is the nestor of the association, and has been its head since the beginning. Consequently when he spoke of resigning the honor to another member, Arthur Parker strenuously objected, saying "Uncle Dan" was the only member to hold the association together. Mr. Parker proposed that "Uncle Dan" be unanimously elected, and his motion was carried. Mr. Phillips is a member of the firm of Berry-Demobile & Co., of Nashville. A. M. Reed, of the Lamar & Rankin Drug Company, of Atlanta, was made vice-president, and F. A. Dicks, of Finlay, Dicks & Co., of New Orleans, was elected secretary-treasurer.

F. E. Holliday, of Indianapolis, vice-chairman of the Proprietary Committee, and Arthur Parker, vice-president, represented the N. W. D. A., the convention of which association will be held here in November. The other members present were Charles S. Martin, of Sparlock, Neal & Co., of Nashville; Bradford Hardie, of Gay, Hardie & Durr, of Montgomery; J. C. Lyons, of I. L. Lyons & Co., of New Orleans; O. Lillybeck, of the Lillybeck Drug Company, of Memphis; W. R. Betts and John Phillips, of I. L. Lyons & Co., New Orleans; C. R. Durr, of Montgomery; H. H. Sinninge, of the Meyer Bros. Drug Company, of St. Louis, and Stephen Platt, of the estate of A. G. Cassell, of Vicksburg.

FOR LOWER TAX ON ALCOHOL.

Resolutions calling upon Congress to reduce the tax on alcohol from $1.10 to 70 cents were passed. It was decided to aid the N. A. R. D. and other organizations, and to earnestly co-operate with them in bringing about this reduction at the next session of Congress. Resolutions calling upon Congress to pass the Lovering Drawback bill, which aims to remove the tax on alcohol when used for medicinal purposes, were discussed, but no action was taken.

It developed that the express companies are getting shipments of drugs which ought to be carried by the railroads as ordinary freight. This has caused a complaint from the railroad companies. In order that it might not become implicated in the controversy the association refused to take action in the matter.

Trade abuses were discussed at length, but nothing regarding these were given to the press. H. H. Sinninge, of Birmingham, was made an honorary member. Mr. Sinninge has sold out his Birmingham interests and accepted a position with the Meyer Bros. Drug Company, of St. Louis. Hence, because of going out of the Southern territory, he ceases to be an active member. He was unanimously made an honorary member.

A. J. Horlick's sharp fight for the favor of the trade as against another malted milk concern, which is domiciled in New Orleans, was one of the features of the convention. Mr. Horlick thought he should be given the preference, because he had been longest in the field. The meeting passed a resolution calling upon him to raise the discount to the trade from 10 and 3 to 10 and 5.

An Advisory Committee composed of the following was elected: Charles S. Martin, of Nashville; Bradford Hardie, of Montgomery and J. C. Lyons, of New Orleans. A Board of

Control, to be composed of the association's officers and P. P. Van Vleet, of the Van Vleet-Mansfield Drug Company, of Memphis, and Sam Eichbold, of the Mobile Drug Company, of Mobile, was also elected.

The Proprietors to Meet on June 1.

The annual meeting of the Proprietary Association of America will be held in Chicago on June 1, 2 and 3 The exact place of meeting has not been definitely decided upon; at least it was not known here up to the latter part of last week. It is expected that the attendance will be large, since matters of special importance, it is understood, are to come up for consideration. The annual meeting was not due until next fall, and the calling of the meeting for next month has occasioned some surprise. It is thought likely that the so-called Washington Promise Plan of the proprietors will be among the matters discussed.

Dr. Pierce Sues The Ladies' Home Journal for $200,000.

The World's Dispensary Association of Buffalo, manufacturers of Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription, have brought suit against the Ladies' Home Journal of Philadelphia for damages in the sum of $200,000, because of the publication of an editorial article in that journal for May, in which is published what purports to be an analysis of Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription and appends to this analysis a vigorous condemnation and warning against the use of this and similar preparations. Dr. V. Mott Pierce, former President of the Proprietary Association of America, and officer of the company, says concerning the matter, that "the charges made against our medicine are absolutely false, as the complaint in our suit shows. We find it hard to understand how a reputable magazine of the high standing and enormous circulation of the Ladies' Home Journal should make such a damaging statement without taking pains to ascertain the facts. The remedy, 'Doctor Pierce's Favorite Prrescription' is so well and favorably known, and has such a wide sale, that we could not afford to allow such a charge to pass unanswered. The fact is the 'Favorite Prescription' is composed of extracts of medicinal plants, roots and herbs, which would not harm the most delicate system. It is a false and unfounded attack upon the good name and repute of our company."

Druggists Deprived of Liquor Licenses.

Boston, May 4.-Twenty druggists of Boston are deprived of their liquor licenses for one year at least. They may use liquors in compounding medicines and prescriptions, but they cannot sell liquors in response to physicians' prescriptions or keep them in their stores in quantities without violating the law. The following were refused licenses by the Board of Police: Clarence E. George, 159 Norfolk street; William II. Boodro, 1270 Dorchester avenue; Connolly & Davis, 1434 Dorchester avenue; Connolly & Davis, 760 Washington street; Everett M. Higgins, 620 Washington street; John Hall Smith, 1011 Dorchester avenue; George R. Wiley, 93 Stoughton street; Frank M. Proctor, 212 Bowdoin street, West Roxbury; Samuel Meadows, 346 Washington street, West Roxbury.

These were refused certificates as druggists by the Board of Pharmacy and are not eligible applicants for sixth-class licenses: William A. Connolly, 146 Harrison avenue; William Connor, 759 Washington street; Edward Daly, 2 Broadway, South Boston; Chauncey E. Hubbell, 1553 Washington street; Henry D. Huggan, 128 Massachusetts avenue; Daniel J. Kiley, 301 West Broadway; Frank W. Mansfield, 149 Bennington street, East Boston; Samuel M. Moore, 373 Cambridge street, Brighton; F. J. McCarthy, 629 Warren street; Edward Rathburn, 335 Columbus avenue; Moses W. Somers, 210 Blue Hill avenue. An association of liquor dealers is blamed for this movement, but the Board of Police assumes the entire responsibility. The police are watching druggists closely, and those who violate the law are likely to have their licenses revoked.