180  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  {AmAS'i889arm' 
water  can  be  detected  by  this  test. — L.  v.  Itallie,  Apoth.  Ztg.,  1889, 
197. 
Salicylate  of  zinc  is  made  rapidly  and  cheaply  by  boiling  for  several 
minutes  34  parts  sodium  salicylate,  29  parts  zinc  sulphate  and  125 
parts  water ;  after  cooling  the  mass  of  crystals  is  collected  on  a  filter, 
washed  several  times  with  small  portions  of  water  and  finally,  recrys- 
tallized  from  boiling  water.  The  salt  has  the  formula  Zn(C7H503)2 
2  H20 ;  1  part  dissolves  in  25.2  parts  water  and  in  3.5  parts  alcohol ; 
the  anhydrous  salt  dissolves  in  36  parts  ether  and  450  parts  chloro- 
form. For  external  use  it  can  be  applied  as  a  fine  powder  or  salve, 
also  as  a  solution  in  collodium. — L.  v.  Itallie,  Pharm.  Ztg.,  1889, 131. 
Color  reactions  of  some  volatile  oils.- — Oil  of  peppermint  dissolved  in 
alcohol  after  addition  of  a  little  finely  powdered  sugar  gives  on  heat- 
ing with  HC1  or  dilute  H2S04  an  intense  blue-green  color.  Menthol 
does  not  give  this  reaction.  Oils  of  cloves,  cassia  and  pimenta  with 
an  alcoholic  phloroglucin  solution  and  HC1  give  intense  red  colors  • 
with  resorcin  in  the  same  way  oil  of  cloves  yields  a  red  violet  color, 
oil  of  cassia  a  vermilion  red  color,  oil  of  pimenta  a  dirty  violet  color. 
—A.  Ihl,  Chem.  Ztg.,  1889,  264. 
Quantitative  separation  of  brucine  and  strychnine. — The  difference 
in  behavior  towards  oxidizing  agents  allowed  J.  E.  Gerock  to  form- 
ulate a  method  by  which  these  two  alkaloids  could  be  estimated ;  it  is 
dependent  upon  the  decomposition  of  brucine  by  means  of  dilute  nitric 
acid,  the  products  of  decomposition  not  possessing  alkaloidal  proper- 
ties. The  picrates  of  the  alkaloids  acting  like  the  latter,  from  neutral 
solution  at  the  temperature  of  the  water-bath  the  alkaloidal  solution  is 
precipitated  by  picric  acid,  after  standing  for  a  short  time  the  precipi- 
tate is  collected  upon  a  weighed  filter,  washed  with  cold  water  until  the 
washings  are  colorless,  dried  at  105°  and  weighed.  The  precipitate 
is  transferred,  as  completely  as  possible,  to  a  beaker  and  nitric  acid 
sp.  gr.  1*056,  warmed  on  a  water-bath,  is  repeatedly  passed  through 
the  filter  to  decompose  any  unremoved  brucine  picrate ;  the  nitric  acid 
is  then  added  to  the  precipitate  in  the  beaker  and  this  placed  on  a 
water-bath  for  some  time  ;  by  carefully  neutralizing,  adding  a  trace  of 
acetic  acid  and  allowing  to  cool,  the  strychnine  picrate  is  reprecipitated, 
collected  on  the  previously  used  filter,  washed,  dried  and  weighed. 
The  difference  between  the  two  weighings  represents  the  brucine 
picrate  (anhydrous).  Control  experiments  agree  very  well. — Arch., 
der  Pharm.,  1889,  158. 
