2l4 



2 HE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



The soil ol this maratime plain is a light- 

 brown loam, very rich, and almost without a 

 stone. In places where the loam has been mix- 

 ed with sand, the colocynth plant seems to 

 thrive best. Very little rain falls on parts of 

 this plain. The plant does not suffer from this 

 lack of moisture. The climate is warm the 

 year round, and during the summer months 

 the heat is intense, so that the conditions neces- 

 sary for the successful raising of the colocynth 

 would seem to be a good soil, somewhat sandy, 

 a warm climate and a little moisture. 



The plant itself resembles our common 

 cucumber, but its fruit is globose, about the size 

 of an orange, of a light brown color. Its rind 

 is smooth, thin and parchment like. It is known 

 as the Turkish colocynth, and is superior to the 

 Spanish and Mogador varieties, in the amount 

 of pulp its fruit contains. The pulp constitutes 

 25 per cent, of the fruit. The rind and seeds 

 are valueless. 



The fellaheen, or peasants, gather the fruit in 

 July and August before it is quite ripe. It is 

 sold to Jaffa dealers who peel it and dry the 

 pulp in the sun. It is then moulded into ir- 

 regular small balls, packed in boxes, and ship- 

 ped, mostly to England. The average annual 

 shipment from Jaffa is 10,000 pounds, though 

 this year's shipment amounted to only about 

 6,000 pounds. This quantity could be increas- 

 ed indefinitely, if there were more demand for 

 it, and a price were paid that would make it an 

 inducement for the peasants to gather and pre- 

 pare it. The price now paid for the colocynth 

 pulp, prepared, packed for shipment and de- 

 livered on board the steamers in the port of 

 Jaffa is about 30 cents a pound. 



There seems to be no reason why the plant 

 should not be successfully grown in certain 

 parts of the United States. The soil and climatic 

 conditions are certainly adapted to it. — United 

 States Consular Report. 



A prescription appeared in the Medical 

 Gleaner, written by Dr. W. C. Cooper, the 

 constituents of which were as follows: 



R. Tetrahydrobetanaphtholamine, 



Sodium Thioparatoluidinesulphonate, 

 Orthosulphamidobenzoic anhidride, 

 Amidoacetoparaphenetidine aa 3i. 

 M. Sig.: A tablespoonful every hour. 



This was prescribed for a disease which the 

 doctor calls — Typhomalariopneumophtbisico- 

 trychinotetanoataxionephriticosplenitis. — Phar. 

 Jour, of Australasia. 



A NEW SERIES OF NITROGEN COM= 

 POUNDS. 



Another new series of nitrogen com- 

 pounds, containing four atoms of that 

 element along with one atom of carbon 

 in a closed chain, are described by Prof, 

 v. Pechmann and Herr Runge in the 

 Berichte. They are termed ' ' tetrazolium' * 

 compounds, and the parent base of the 

 series is tetrazolium hydroxide, whose 

 constitution is represented by the formula 

 N-NH 



X 



HC 



\ 



I 



II 



OH 



The fundamental base itself has not yet 

 been isolated; the compounds prepared 

 comprise the derivative in which the two 

 hydrogen atoms directly attached to the 

 two end nitrogen atoms are replaced by 

 phenyl, together with a large number of 

 salts of this base, formed by replacement 

 of the hydroxyl by halogens or other 

 acid radicals, just as in the case of me- 

 tallic hydroxides. The hydrogen atom 

 attached to the carbon is likewise capable 

 of replacement by many organic radicals, 

 so that a large number of still more com- 

 plicated bases have likewise been prepar- 

 ed, together with their corresponding 

 salts. 



The hydroxides of this new series are 

 characterized by possessing strong basic 

 properties. They may all be prepared 

 most conveniently from their chlorides, 

 by the ac'ion upon them of silver oxide. 

 They are extremely soluble in water, but 

 are completely precipitated from their 

 solutions, by ether. The aqueous solu- 

 tions absorb carbon dioxide and behave 

 very much like caustic alkalies. They 

 cannot, however, be crystallized, form- 

 ing resins upon concetration. 



The salts, on the other hand, crystal- 

 lize admirably; they are usually soluble 

 in water, react neutral to litmus, and 



