THE ANALYST. FEBKUARY, 1879. CHABLES EEISCH, F.C.S. G. w. WIGNEB, F.C.S. SOCIETY OF PUBLIC ANALYSTS. C. H. PIESSE, F.C.S. W. C. YOUNG, F.C.S. THE ANNUAL MEET IN^ of this Society was held on Wednesday, the 15th January at Burlington House, Piccadilly, Dr. Dupr6, F.8. S., in the chair. The minutes of the prcvious meeting were read and confirmed. The Treasurer presented the accounts for the year, audited, and expressed his satisfaction at the financial position of the Society, as compared with last Sear.Dr. Bostock Hill end Nr. A. Ashhy, were appointed Scrutineers to examine the voting papers, and they reported that the following gentlemen had been elected as President, and Vice-presidents, &c., for the present year. President. I Other Mem6ers of Cozcncil. 1 M.A. ADAMS, F.R.C.S. J. MUTEB, PE.D., M.A., F.C.S. Tics-Presihnta. A. DUPER’, PH.D., F.R.S., F.C.S. J. W. TRIPE, M.D. J. C. BROWN, D.Sc., F.C.S. Deatwer. C. W. HEATON, F.C.S. Hon. Secretmies. A. H. ALLEN, F.C.S. A. WYNTER BLYTH, M.R.C.S., F.C.S. A. H. CHURCII, MA., F.C.8. A. HILL, ku., F.C.S. E. W. T. JONES, F.C.S. 3’. MAXWELL LYTE, F.C.S.20 THE ANALYST. ANALYST also show an increase, having been 35 last year against 33 the prerious p a r .As regards our finances, we have now a balance of S13 in hand, whereas at this time last year wc mere in debt to the amount of $10. All this is highly satisfactory, and I trust we may continne in the same path. The Society has now been established about four years, and although it may be too early, as yet, to afErm that it bas proved its claim t o permanent existence, we may at least Bay, without fear of contradiction, that it has done tnuch good and useful work during that time.Indeed, had our Society not existed, it is not too much to say that the Pale of Food and Drugs’ Act could not have been worked with anything like the success it has been. Not only has our Society disseminated among its members the knowledge of processes (old as well as new), devised by chemists in every part of Europe and America, but the contributions of our members to the branch of practical chemistry relating to the testing of foods, drinks, and drugs, are among the most Faluable that hare been made to that branch of chemistry during the last four years.Much, however, still remains to be done before our means of grappling with what might be called the art of adulteration, can be said to rest on a thoroughly satisfactory basis, and until such is the case a Society like ours is, I believe, a necessity.We may, therefore, confidently look forward to, at least, a number of years of useful and prosperous existence. When the Society was first established many of the public analyst8 that had been appointed were, without doubt, less acquainted with the duties they were called upon to perform than was a t all desirable, but this was almost unavoidable.The study of pro- cemes adapted for the detection of adulteration in foods and drinks had been very greatly neglected, and I believe there was not a single public laboratory in the country in which such processes were taught.Every public analyst had, therefore, to study such processes by himself as occasions arose, in many cases after his appointment Now, however, this state of things has in very great measure passed away, thanksmainly to the labours of our Society, and public analysts form, on the whole, as efficient a body of men, for the performance of the special duties cast upon them, as could reasonably be expected.We have, of course, not escaped serious criticism and even abuse, more partioularly at the hands of interested trade journals, but this need not be wondered at. The busi- ness of our members is to render adulteration impossible, and all engaged in the nefarious work of adulteration, be they milk dealers, grocers, or pharmaceutical chemists, will, of course, cry out against us.Fair criticism, even if very severe, is useful, and ought to be encouraged and welcomed, but, unfortunately, much of the criticism we have been exposed to has been the reverse of fair, though often very strong. One very common mis- representation I would take this opportunity of denouncing most emphatically. Public analysts are often abused as prosecutors, as if they not only analysed the samplee brought to them, but bought them and acted as prosecutors as well.Now, nothing can be further from the truth. The public analyst, as we all know, and as anybody might learn, neither buys the samples, nor, in the majority of cases, even suggests what samples are to be bought, and he has absolutely nothing whatever to do with the prosecution.A11 he does is to analyse the samples brought t o him, and to give a certificate in accordance with the results of his analysis. He does not know from whom the samples have been bought, as they are merely distinguished by a number or other mark, and he cannot, thcrefore, by any possibility, be biassed one may or the other. During the past year there have been rather fewer differences between public analysts,THE ANALYST.21 on the one hand, and the Somerset House Chemists-the chosen court of referees-on the other. This is probably, in part at least, owing to the more careful work of public analysts in general, but in greater part, I believe, it is due to the fact that the referees are gradually learning the new work cast upon them by the Sale of Food and Drugs’ Act, even as public analysts had to learn theirs.I n time, no doubt, substantial agreement will be arrived at, and such time would -be materially shortened if the authorities at Somerset House were to instruct their chemists fairly t o meet the wishs of this Society, as expressed in the letter of the Secretaries of 22nd January, 1878. As it is, our proceed- ings being public, all analytical processes used by our members, as well as the various standards, or rather limits, adopted or proposed by our Society, often after much discus- sion, and representing always a very considerab!e amount of experience, are open to any- body to challenge or disprove.But our conclusions thus publicly arrived at may be overridden, because a small number of experiments, deemed by the few chemists a t Somerset House to be conclusive, are apparently not in accord with our conclusions, but instead of bringing these alleged facts forward for general discussion, they keep them in the drawers of the Somerset House Laboratory, t o be brought forward only when some public analyst has to be proved wrong.Such a state of things is eminently unsatisfactory. A court of referees to appeal to in disputed cases, is perhaps a necessity, and at all events is highly desirable, but all the factors with which it works should be open to the fullest discussion, otherwise it is impossible for those affected by its decisions to have confidence in its competency.It is no doubt true that anyone who goes to the Somerset House Laboratory is shown, with the greatest politeness, the various analytical results on which reliance is placed. But facts so obtained are, by the very manner in which they are obtained, beyond the pale of public discussion, and it is impossible to criticiae them. The present referees seem also often to forget that it is their primary duty to protect the public against the nefarious practices of the adulterating manufacturer or tradesman.A serious interruption t o the working of the Act mas caused last year in various districts in England, owing to the fact that many magistrates recognised as a valid defence thc plea that an inspector cannot be said t o be prejudiced if he receives an adulterated article. Had this plea been universally recognised, the Sale of Food and Drugs’ Act wovlld have been a dead letter.The case will soon be argued before one of the higher courts, and the decision to be pronounced will, no doubt, set the point at rest, either by refusing to recognise the validity of tbe plea, when, of course, everything will go on as heretofore, or by recognising it, compel Parliament to pass a short amending Act. Another interesting case will also shortly be heard, on appeal from one of the magis- trates in my district, namely, whether, in selling an entirely fictitious article (artificial butter in this case), it is sufficient for the dealer to wrap the article in a paper, on which is printed, in somewhat small type, and not in a conspicuous place, ‘‘ Notice, this com pound is sold as imported and declared according to the Act section 8,” without any inti- mation to the buyer that he is not obtaining what he asked for.It is to be hoped that Mr. Woolrych’s decision will be upheld. A somewhat striking case, showing the importance of continuous supervision, which has come under my own observation, may not be un-interesting to many. By the direction of the District Board nine samples of milk were bought one Sunday morning, and brought to me for analysis.Out of these nine samples two only were fairly good while seven were largely adulterated, two of them consisting of milk and water, in22 TEE ANALYST. about equal proportions. A fortnight later, nine more samples were bought, but by this time the dealers had taken the alarm, and one sample only was found adulterated, Taking the average for the last two or three years, rather less than one in five has been found adulterated, but these were always bought on week-days, and the above was the first Sunday experiment.Before vacating this chair, I would once more earnestly cntreat all our members to aid in the general usefulness of the Society, by bringing as much as possible of their work, as Public Analysts, before our meetings.It is not to be expected that many of our members can spare the necessary time for elaborating new processes of analysis, but everyoue, without exception, can aid in the improvements of already established methods, by bringing forward his personal experience, and let nobody think that his experience may not be worth publication.Every observed fact is of value, and it is only by the co-operation of many that any great advance can be made. Even if no entirely new fact can be brought forward, much good might be done if members generally would farour us with some of the results of their yearly work, giving us, say, the compositions of the variouspwe articles they have examined during the year. ‘We fihould then, as a Society, soon be in possession of a series of chemical statistics relating to all kinds of food, drink and drugs, which would be invaluable to all engaged in their examination- such a series as could not be matched anywhere.And now, i t oniy remains for me to thank you once more most heartily for the honour you did me in electing me your President; the occupation of this chair has been to me n great pleasure, and I trust that it may not have bcen without some benefit t o the Society.Dr. Muter then moved l ‘ That this Society desires to express its hearty thanks to the “retiring president, Dr. Dupr6, for the marked ability and courtesy with which he t ‘ haa uniformly conducted the business of the Society,” and in doing so alluded to the able and temperate way in which Dr. Dupr6 had always managed the meetinga, and the great chemical knowledge and skill shown in the remarks he made on the various papers read before the Society. Mr.Heisch seconded the resolutim, which was carried unanimously. Dr. Duprd having briefly replied, Mr. Hehner proposed, and Dr. Bostock Hill seconded, ‘‘ That the thanks of this 6‘ Society be presented t o the Officers and Members of Cvuncil for their attention to the “ business of the Society during the past year.” Mr.Heaton returned thanks. Dr. Dupr6 proposed, and Dr. Alfred Hill seconded, “ That this Society desires to 6‘ express its hearty thanks t o the Council of the Chemical Society for the gratuitous use 4‘ of their rooms for general and council meetings during the past year,” and the Secretaries were directed to transmit a copy of the resolution to the Council of the Chemical Society. Dr.Dupr6 then vacated the chair, which WAS thereupon taken by Dr. Muter, who, in returning thanks for being elected to that seat, said he felt very unworthy of the honour, but trusted that his attention to the interests of the Society would be such as to make him worthy of it. Mr. 0. Hehner read a paper “On the determination of Phosphoric Acid 88 Phospho-molybdate,” and Mr. Allen and Dr. Muter joined in the disoiission whicb ensued.THE ANALYST. 23 Mr. Wigner read a paper by Mr. E. W. T. Jones, (( On the influence of the De- composition in Butters from age on the Specific Gravity of the Fat, and the percentage, of Soluble and Insoluble Acids,” and also a paper by Dr. J. M. Milne, “On Butter Analysis.”” As there were seyeral Members who desired to make some remarks on the subject, the discussion on these papers was adjourned until the February Meeting. After the meeting the Annual Dinner was held at the Caf6 Royal, Regent Street, when the members and several friends passed a very agreeable evening. The next Meeting of the Society will be held on February 19th, at Burlington House.