» a P ‘ Ss rie 7 . ek NT ew Fil x 
Ary 3 »'Ve : ES) I> 
Sor a a sit tt > aa i Pia A Wy ] 
« Va § "> ; Tt aN RY 
(SRA rea IONS AND DRUGS. =” 71 
ee oes eee Xl : JX. > AL ee ie, ; : 
~~ SN wae x re, fA 8 aes a er cn oe ead : ta. ; boy Ue ra 3 wey 
' 4 
a Oenanthol. ibe “thle: reduction of aldehydes: to. ore dontpepenalig alcohols, 
> A. Levene and F. A. Taylor?) recommend the use of an. ‘emulsion of metallic sodium 
oe They suspend the calculated quantity Of sodium in dry toluene, heat until 
> metal melts, shake vigorously and cool quickly with ice under continuous shaking. 
then: add to the emulsion the aldehyde, dissolved in glacial acetic acid and 
joluene, and, as soon as the reaction is complete, some water for dissolving the _ 
sodium acetate, separate the toluene from the aqueous solution and fractionate. The 
yield of heptyl alcohol was 58 per cent. of the theoretic Co b. p- {79:0 10. 176.02; 
a ,» m. P. 60°. 
3 “pollantin. On page 65 ‘of our ee of Ociehet 1918, we Niecaeeed Bi W. Hey!’s $7) 
ublication on the chemical composition of the pollen of Ambrosia artemisifolia, L., 
Con preter This pollen as well as that of Ambrosia trifida has been investigated by j 
. Koessler?), in order to find out whether the chemical composition would afford 
a ‘clue as to the toxic action causing hay-fever. The contents in. 100 parts were: 
10.! parts of water, 10.6 parts of ashes, 6.89 parts of sugar (after hydrolysis), 10.3 parts 
of lipoids soluble in ether, 4.75 parts of fatty acids (after saponification), 0.34 part of 
Shy tosterol, 12.5 parts of constituents soluble in alcohol 95 per cent., 11.5 parts of 
extractive ‘matter soluble in alcohol and water and 37.71 per cent. of iieolnble residue. 
Th arilysis of the albumen, calculated for the pollen, gave, the following figures: 
2.1 |3 percent. arginine, 2.41 per cent. histidine, 0.57 percent. cystine and 0.97 percent. lysine. 
s -Koessler is inclined to attach great importance to the comparatively high content — 
f histidine, owing to its relation with the poisonous Sel ezemvlctiaviemaes 
ie - ‘ rl 
~ 
\ 
"Saffron. In the communication no. a7 of the Canunittes for tostsiing:{ the culti- & 
Si of medicinal plants in Austria by the Government*), R. Kuraz deals with the 
ing of saffron, which according to his opinion is one of the useful plants, hie 
hich’ the Austrian agriculture will have. to show more attention. 3 
‘The cultivation of saffron is now scarcely to be found at-all in Lower Austria, 
E Be cot in Maissau, where the production is so small, however, that Austrian saffron 
is_ without any importance for the world’s trade. At present the Spanish saffron 
; ultivation is the most eppstdersale, and its te anaes Nas a ees influence on 
the world’s market. | | 
The consumption of saffron being very consileriule! in Austria-Hungary, large , 
ums are paid to foreign countries for this condiment. ‘From 1910 to 1913, Austria- _ 
ni gary imported 86 200 kilos of it to the value of 8738 470 crowns. For this reason 
¢ author thought it worth while to recall the leading facts about the cultivation of 
af ron. It is specially recommendable to small farmers with big families, the, members 
f which can then do all the work connected with it, above all the collecting; which 
a great deal of time. Saffron growing anoids Goes occupation without any 
Wer-exertion to older children. y , 
_ AS even a " short summary of Kuraz’s notes. aout require’ too much $pace, we 
1 to call attention only to some of the most important points. | 
a True saffron can be cultivated with success in all the wine-districts. It requires 
y and very hot weather in July and Pens and wan, fine oe Saper tay during 
P - a 
: r 
a 
oy J. Biol. Chem. 36 (1918), 281; Tibbiy: Soc. Chem. Industry 37 (1918), A. 606. — Chem. Zentralbl. 1919, 1. 349. 
4) Journ. Americ. Chem. Soc. 39 (1917), 1470. — %) Journ. Biol. Chem. 35 (1918), 415; Chem. Zentralbl. 1919, 
3. _ (2 After a reprint kindly sent tis. Bs ' ; 
