Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
March,  1910.  J 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
129 
Colocynth  Constituents. — Power  and  Moore  review  the  literature 
relating  to  the  constituents  of  colocynth  and  report  a  comprehen- 
sive examination  of  Turkish  colocynth.  The  seed  represented  75.5 
per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  peeled  fruit.  They  further  demon- 
strate that  the  so-called  colocynthin  and  colocynthitin,  and  perhaps 
other  products  heretofore  obtained  from  colocynth  and  to  which 
specific  names  have  been  attached,  are  indefinite  mixtures,  that  the 
amount  of  glucosidic  substance  present  in  this  drug  is  very  small, 
and  that  the  activity  of  colocynth  is  due  to  at  least  two  principles, 
one  of  which  is  alkaloidal,  although  a  very  weak  base,  while  the 
other  is  non-basic. — Chem.  and  Drug.,  Lond.,  1910,  76,  p.  150. 
Refractive  Indices  of  Essential  Oils. — Ernest  J.  Parry,  com- 
menting on  the  refractive  indices  of  essential  oils,  asserts  that  the 
refractometer  is  an  absolutely  necessary  instrument  in  a  laboratory 
where  essential  oils  are  examined,  and  points  out  that  considerable 
information  regarding  the  identity  and  composition  of  volatile  oils 
can  be  obtained  by  the  systematic  examination  of  the  several  frac- 
tions obtained  in  the  fractional  distillation  of  an  oil.  He  also 
enumerates  the  refractive  indices  of  a  number  of  essential  oils,  of 
the  normal  constituents,  of  adulterants,  and  of  other  liquids. — Chem. 
and  Drug.,  Lond.,  19 10,  76,  p.  178. 
Cajuput  Oil. — Baker  and  Smith  report  that  a  sample  of  oil  of 
cajuput  distilled  from  Melaleuca  uncinata  gave:  specific  gravity 
0.9259,  optical  rotation  -f-  7.2 °,  refractive  index  1.4788,  saponifica- 
tion number  3.05,  and  solubility  in  70  per  cent,  alcohol  1— 1 5. — 
Chem.  and  Drug.,  Lond.,  1910,  76,  p.  151. 
Medicinal  Herbs. — To  pharmacists  and  others  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  cultivation  and  gathering  of  medicinal  herbs,  an  illus- 
trated article  in  the  "  Winter  issue  "  of  the  Chemist  and  Druggist 
(Lond.,  1910,  76,  pp.  179-182),  describing  the  cultivation  and  the 
gathering  of  herbs  in  Kent,  will  prove  to  be  more  than  usually 
interesting. 
Veronal. — An  abstract  (from  Medical  Press)  points  out  that  an 
alarming  number  of  deaths  from  the  use  of  veronal,  either  by  acci- 
dent or  intention,  have  been  reported  within  the  past  few  weeks, 
and  the  matter  is  pointed  out  as  being  well  deserving  of  the  serious 
attention  of  the  government.  In  a  recent  veronal  poisoning  case 
at  Cardiff  the  coroner  expressed  the  opinion  that  there  should  be 
some  legislation  which,  without  interfering  with  the  legitimate 
trade  of  the  chemist,  should  form  a  protection  for  the  public,  so 
