164 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



Parilline is white, pulverulent, light, unaltered in the air, 

 bitter, austere, slightly astringent and nauseous, and having a 

 particular odour. It is heavier tlian distilled water. Insoluble in 

 cold water ; very little soluble in hot -ivater. Slightly soluble in 

 cold alcohol ; soluble in hot alcohol. Ipiiu^re parilline is insoluble 

 in cold water, soluble in hot water, ana in concentrated hot and 

 cold alcohol. 



This substance slightly reddens turmeric paper. Heated to 

 212° it fuses,^ becomes black, is partly decomposed : at a higher 

 temperature it decomposes like vegetable substances containing 

 no nitrogen. Concentrated sulphuric acid decomposes it : diluted 

 sulphuric acid is neutralized by it, forming a sulphate. All the 

 acids unite to it, forming salts. 



After certain experiments made upon himself, in which M. 

 Palotta took at different times : from 2 to 13 grains of pure parilline 

 at once, he concludes that the substance is a pt^werful debilitating 

 medicine, or one generally diminishing the vital energy ; and, 

 that in proportion to the dose given : to this property it also unites 

 irritating powers. 



M. Planche states that he has repeated the process of M. 

 Palotta, but has not as yet verified all the properties said to 

 belong to the substance. — Jour, de Phar. 1824, p. 543. 



23. Experiments on Civet. By M. Boutron-Charlard. — The 

 experiments of which the following are an abstract, were made 

 with an unexceptionably good and unaltered specimen of civet. 

 It was a semi-fluid mass, unctuous, of a yellowish colour, becoming 

 brown by time, thickening by contact with air, of a very strong 

 and disagreeable odour when in quantity, but agreeable when 

 weakened. A portion of it put into a close vessel in which also 

 was placed a piece of reddened litmus paper, gave out ammonia 

 enough in 24 hours to restore the blue colour of the paper : when 

 distilled at a low temperature, a few drops of an ammoniacal solu- 

 tion came over. Digested with boiling ether a portion was dis- 

 solved, which, when obtained by evaporation, proved to be a 

 mixture of elaine and stearine. The part insoluble in ether was 

 soluble in hot solution of potash, with the exception of a few 

 hairs and extraneous matter : the addition of nitric acid preci- 

 pitated flocculi, of a substance which when collected burnt like 

 animal matter. Hot alcohol after some time entirely dissolved 

 the pure part of civet ; on cooling, stearine was deposited, the 

 remaining solution became turbid when dropped into water ; 

 evaporated it left an orange-yellow semi-fluid substance, which, 

 by diluted muriatic acid and heat, was sei)arated into resin and 

 fatty matter. 



Civet distilled with water yielded a few drops of volatile oil, of 

 a biting hot taste, and having the odour of civet. The residue 



