490 
MISCELLANEA. 
action; that the same agent which alters the molecular arrangement of the iodide of 
silver on the excited collodion plate, and determines the formation of camphor and 
iodine crystals in a bottle, also causes the syrupy honey to assume a crystalline form. 
This, however, is the case. M. Scheibler* has enclosed honey in stoppered flasks, some 
of which he has kept in perfect darkness, whilst others have been exposed to the light. 
The invariable result has been that the sunned portion rapidly crystallizes, whilst that 
kept in the dark has remained perfectly liquid. We now see why bees are so careful to 
work in perfect darkness, and why they are so careful to obscure the glass windows 
which are sometimes placed in their hives. The existence of their young depends on 
the liquidity of the saccharine food presented to them, and if light were allowed access 
to this, the syrup would gradually acquire a more or less solid consistency; it would 
seal up the cells, and in all probability prove fatal to the inmates of the hive.— Quarterly 
Journal of Science , April, 1864. 
Substitutes for Gutta-Percha. —A new insulating material has been recently 
imported by Sir W. Holmes from Demarara, which bids fair to be a formidable rival to 
gutta-percha. It is the dried juice of the bullet tree ( Sapota Muller i), and is called 
Balata. It appears likely to be more valuable than india-rubber or gutta-percha by 
themselves, as it possesses much of the elasticity of the one and the ductility of the 
other, without the intractibility of india-rubber, or the brittleness and friability of gutta ¬ 
percha, whilst it requires a much higher temperature to melt or soften it. . . . There 
appears to be every probability that balata will become an important article of com¬ 
merce. supplying the great want of the day—a good insulating medium for telegraphic 
purposes. Professor Wheatstone is now investigating its electrical and insulating pro¬ 
perties. Another substitute for gutta-percha, the juice of the Alstonia scholar is , a tree 
belonging to the natural order Apocynea, has been forwarded from Ceylon by Mr. 
Ondaatjie; it is stated to possess the same properties, and to be as workable as gutta¬ 
percha. It readily softens when plunged in boiling water, is soluble in turpentine and 
chloroform, receives and retains impressions permanently, and is adapted for seals to 
documents. These specimens are sent in response to premiums offered by the Society 
of Arts for the discovery of a substitute for gutta-percha.— Ibid. 
A Ijarge Dose of Quinine.—The following case is communicated to the ‘Medical 
Times and Gazette,’ in a letter from Dr. Taussey of Rome, to Dr. Clapton of St. Thomas’s 
Hospital:—“ Dr. Hayier, a military medical man, visited in barracks a soldier, suffering 
from a relapse of ague, and administered to him a small dose of sulphate of quinine. At 
the same time, he directed a man to fetch one ounce of the same remedy from the hos¬ 
pital, in order that he might have it in readiness for any emergency. The man received 
the bottle ; but, supposing that it was ordered for the patient just mentioned, he took it 
to him. In the presence of their comrades, they put the whole into a cup, adding suf¬ 
ficient water to make a paste of it; and the patient, although he found the medicine 
uncommonly bitter, did not leave oil until he had taken it all.” The only inconvenience 
experienced was a complete deafness and a kind of stupor; and no antidote was adminis¬ 
tered. The ague disappeared ; and the man left the hospital in a week, in the best state 
of health. 
Silkworms. —M. Onesti has found that wood-soot, if sprinkled over silkworms at¬ 
tacked with febrine , effects an almost certain cure, or, at all events, prolongs their lives 
until the cocoons are finished. The Minister of Agriculture has addressed a circular to 
the prefets of the sericultural departments of France, and has requested that a commis¬ 
sion be formed to report on the value of M. Onesti’s discovery. Avery interesting letter 
from M. Guerin-Menneville, printed in a recent number of ‘ Les Mondes,’ gives many 
particulars of the progress of sericulture in France. Among other things; it is mentioned 
that M. Simon, charged with a mission to China to report on the best breeds of worms, 
inter alia , has sent home a box of eggs vid Siberia, which have arrived safely, and are 
now being distributed, and are also being experimented on at the Imperial farm at 
Vincennes. 
Suicide by Cyanide of Potassium.—A coroner’s inquest took place on Saturday^ 
* Journ. de Pharm. et de Cliimie, 1863. 
