Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1889. 
Native  Wyoming  Soap. 
613 
in  alcohol,  ether,  chloroform  and  the  alkalies,  soluble  in  glycerin,  and 
sparingly  soluble  (20  cgm.  to  1,000  gm.)  in  water ;  alcoholized  water 
dissolves  them  fairly  well  for  practical  purposes.  M.  Yerhassel  pre- 
sents the  following  list  of  reactions  abtained  directly,  without  previous 
solution : 
Alpha  naphthol.  Beta  naphthol. 
Chloride  of  lime  liquor.  Violet  coloration.  Yellowish  green. 
Ferrocyanide  of  potass.  "  Faint  yellow. 
Ferricyanide  of  potass.  Brown.  Greenish  yellow. 
Ammonia.  Colorless.  Greenish. 
When  the  naphthols  are  dissolved  in  alcohol  and  water,  perchloride 
of  iron  gives  an  abundant  violet  precipitate  with  alpha  naphthol, 
which  becomes  white  and  then  disappears.  With  beta  naphthol  it 
gives  an  emerald  green  color,  and,  with  an  excess  of  the  reagent,  a 
greenish  precipitate. — J.  de  Phar.  d'Anvers,  Sept. 
Reaction  of  Saccharin. — The  solution  containing  saccharin  is 
evaporated  in  a  porcelain  dish,  and  the  residuum  treated  with  nitric 
acid.  A  fragment  of  caustic  potash  is  added,  and  one  or  two  drops 
of  50  per  cent,  alcohol ;  the  mixture  is  then  heated.  If  saccharin  be 
present  the  mixture  turns  to  a  violet  blue  color  and  then  to  red.  The 
presence  of  a  half  milligram  of  saccharin  may  thus  be  detected. — Ann. 
di  Chim.  e  di  Farm,  et  Or.;  Repert.  de  Ph.,  Oct. 
Local  Anesthesia  with  Seltzer  Water. — Dr.  Yoituriez, 
(J.  de  sei.  med.  de  Lille)  recommends  the  use  of  siphons  of  seltzer 
water  for  this  purpose,  the  jet  being  held  at  about  ten  centimeters 
from  the  region  to  be  ansesthelized.  He  uses  at  first  two  or  three 
bottles  of  the  seltzer,  which  gives  anaesthesia  for  four  or  five  minutes, 
when  a  small  additional  quantity  will  suffice  to  prolong  the  effect. 
NATIVE  WYOMING  SOAP. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy —No.  63. 
By  Hermann  Westphal,  Ph.  G. 
This  mineral,  which  is  known  locally  under  the  name  of  "  Native 
Wyoming  Soap,"  occurs  in  the  Blue  Eidge,  30  to  40  miles  west  and 
southwest  of  Sundance,  Wyoming  Territory,  at  an  elevation  of  about 
5,000  feet. 
It  is  found  in  two  distinct  forms.  1.  The  wet  variety,  which  oc- 
curs in  sink  holes,  or  in  the  neighborhood  of  springs,  and  covers,  prob- 
ably, an  area  of  several  hundred  acres.  It  forms  a  thick  very  tenacious 
