July, 1918 



C. U. C. P. ALUMNI JOURNAL 



117 



5 



Conducted by Prof. H. V. Amy. 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



1 . Telephone inquiries will be an- 

 swered cheerfully without charge. Res- 

 idents of Greater New York or vicinity 

 wishing to inquire about some pharma- 

 ceutical problem will ring up the Infor- 

 mation Bureau, Columbus 117. and will 

 receive information immediately, if same 

 is accessible. 



2. Non-residents will have their prob- 

 lems answered in the next issue of the 

 C. U. C. P. Alumni Journal without 

 cost, if they send their inquiries by mail. 



3. Those not wishing to wait for their 

 information until the next issue of the 

 Journal, niay have their inquiries an- 

 swered by mail by enclosing a self-ad- 

 dressed stamped etwelope. 



4. Problems requiring extended re- 

 search will be handled for a fee as mod- 

 erate as consistent with high grade ser- 

 vice. 



5. Translations of articles from for- 

 eign languages, either in full or in ab- 



stra"ct. as well as transcripts of papers 

 appearing in English or American phar- 

 maceutical works. The earliest refer- 

 cals will be prepared for those desiring 

 to pay for such service. 



6. As in the past, all visitors to the 

 library, desiring to do their own research 

 work, will be given courteous attention. 



H. V. Arny, Librarian. 

 Adelaide Rudolph, Bibliography. 

 Hugo H. Schaefer, Queries. 



ANSWERS TO QUERIES 

 Obermayers Reagent. — T. M. S., 



New York. — In "Merck's Reagent 

 Guide" are given two reagents of Ober- 

 ma}er. One, for albumin, is. based upon 

 the formation of a diazo compound, 

 when albumin is treated with nitrous 

 acul, followed by phenol and alkali. The 

 usual one however is his reagent for in- 

 dican, which consists of fuming hydro- 

 chloric acid to which 0.2 to 0.4 per cent, 

 of ferric chloride has been added. When 

 a given volume of this is added to an 

 equal volume of urine that has been clar- 

 ified by treatment with lead acetate and 

 filtration, an indigo-blue color is pro- 

 duced when indican is present. This can 

 be shaken out into chloroform in order 

 to make the color more distinct. 



Anacahuita Wood. — C. J. H., New 

 Y'ork. — This drug is recognized in the 

 Mexican Pharmacopoeia, where the syn- 

 onymes siricote, trompillo and amacua- 

 huitl are given. The pharmacopoeia also 

 states that it is the wood of Cordia Bois- 

 sieri, which grows in the mountains 

 around Tampico and Monterey. 



We find an illustrated article on the 

 drug, by Daniel Hanbury in the Phar- 

 maceutical Journal for December, 1862, 

 page 271, in which it is stated that it 

 was introduced from Tampico into Ger- 

 many as a remedy for phthisis, but that 

 it proved unavailing. An analysis of the 

 wood by Buchner in 1861 failed to show 

 any medicinal constituents beyond tannin 

 and mucilage. 



