114 
THE AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. 
following oils are simply influenced, particularly if poured upon blotting paper 
and touched with the mixture, though under certain still unknown circumstances 
explosions may occur : Oils of rosemary, lavender, cloves, rose, geranium, gaul- 
theria, caraway, cajeput, bitter almond, and rectified petroleum. The following 
substances are ignited without explosion : Alcohol, ether, wood spirit, benzol, 
chlorelayl, sulphide of carbon, and cotton. Guncotton and gunpowder are not 
ignited. 
Says the London Daily Telegraph : — “ A ganja eater is a criminal of which 
we have happily no counterpart. He is an Asiatic monster. We hear, no 
doubt, of men going mad with drink, but their frenzy differs both in degree and 
kind from that which results from indulgence in the juice of hemp. For 
ganja is a preparation of this herb, and, though its production is punishable by 
the laws of India, it is, unfortunately, so easy to procure that crime from this 
cause is constantly occurring. Opium and ganja are the two narcotics best 
known in the East. In the West, fortunately, we have but little experience of 
either. The former steals away, albeit with consummate fascination, a man’s 
intellectual energies, and in consequence, therefore, his physical energies, too. 
The latter makes a mad, wild beast of him ; works him up suddenly into a 
frenzy of malignant purpose, reckless of his own life or of others.’ The opium- 
eater is an innocuous and harmless person. The ganja-eater, on the other hand, 
is invariably a law breaker. He becomes at once a criminal. The villainous 
decoction seems to have the power of bringing to the surface all that is vicious 
and bad in its most violent form. Of such men murderers and assassins are 
made. In the Ghazi village it is ganja orbang, as the different preparations of 
hemp are called, which is used for the stimulation of the fanatics, who are then 
sent out into the world to run-a-muck and to kill and be killed for the faith. 
Hasheesh is another product of this terrible plant, and is itself the root of the 
word assassin.” 
The manufacture of cheap sodium by an electrolytic process has been 
announced in France. An engineer of Lyons, M. Lossier, states that he will 
soon be in a position to sell sodium in large quantities at a price of about 25 
centimes per kilo — not much over one penny a pound. 
Dr. H. W. Vogel, in the P hot ogr aphis cher Mittheilungen , recommends for 
removing silver stains from the hands the same compound that has been used 
as a reducer — i . e ., a mixture of ferricvanide of potassium and hyposulphite of 
soda. A few crystals of the former substance are dissolved in a solution of 
hypo, or from 10 to 20 per cent, of a 20 per cent, solution of the ferri- 
cyanide may be added to the hypo solution, and applied to the stains. This 
substance is not poisonous, and does not destroy the colour of articles of 
clothing. 
Using an artificial gastric juice of hydrochloric acid and pepsin, Chittendon 
and Cummins have determined the relative digestibility of various foods to be as 
follows : — Beef, 100 ; veal, 95 ; mutton, 92 ; chicken (light meat), 87 ; ditto (dark 
meat), 84 ; salmon, 92 ; mackerel, 86 ; haddock, 82 ; trout, 78 ; lobster (young), 
88; ditto (large female), 79; ditto (large male), 69; fresh cod, 72. 
Said the Pall Mall Gazette recently’.: — There are no less than 247 students 
from the colonies, chiefly Australian and South African, studying at Edinburgh 
University, almost wholly attached to the medical school. Their most remark- 
able characteristic is their splendid physique. 
The ancient Egyptians had considerable chemical knowledge. They were 
skilled in smelting ores and working metals, had a good understanding of dyes, 
made glass, and knew how to prevent [decomposition of dead animal matter ; 
while the priesthood evidently had some idea of pharmaceutical chemistry. 
