14  Gleanings  from  the  Foreign  Journals.      { jln^^issi*'^'" 
A  preparation  of  the  above  character  and  composition  can  there- 
fore never  replace  qninia,  and  the  author  in  conclusion  refers  to  a 
point  in  relation  to  the  therapeutic  value  of  quinetum,  as  expressed  by 
Dragendorif  in  Jahresbericht/'  1876,  p.  140,  in  consideration  of  the 
amount  of  cinchonia  contained  therein ;  it  being  accepted  by  him  as 
indubitable  that  of  all  the  known  cinchona  alkaloids  the  cinchonia  is 
the  furthest  removed  in  its  action  from  quinia,  as  evidenced  by  its  pecu- 
liar action  upon  the  spinal  marrow,  and  that  dogs  and  cats,  after  having 
been  given  not  very  large  doses  of  cinchonia  show  the  tetanic  spasms 
the  same  as  in  the  case  of  strychnia. 
The  above  description  and  composition  of  the  so-called  Russian 
quinia y  which  is  said  to  be  sold  at  a  considerably  lower  price  than  the 
pure  preparation,  an  allurement  to  many  purchasers,  will  serve  as  an 
ample  and  timely  warning. — Pharm.  Zeitschrift  fur  Russland,  No.  20, 
1880,  pp.  625—627. 
The  Cause  of  Malarial  Fever. — The  studies  of  Tomassi  and 
Klebs  in  a  fever  district  have  led  to  the  discovery  that  a  microscoj^ic 
fungus  exists  in  the  atmosphere  and  in  the  soil,  consisting  of  movable 
shining,  oval  spores.  The  fungus  was  injected  under  the  skin  of  dogs 
with  the  result  of  producing  malarial  fever,  with  intervals  of  repose, 
for  sixteen  hours,  elevation  of  the  temperature  to  42°C.  (107*6F.)  and 
enlargement  of  the  spleen,  in  which,  as  also  in  the  lymphatic  vessels  a 
large  amount  of  the  fungus  in  its  characteristic  form  was  observed,  and 
to  which  the  \\^\\\^  of  Bacilhis  makwicehas  been  given. —Ibid.,  from 
Journ.  de  Pharm.  et  de  Chim.,  Ser.  6,  Tom.  2,  p.  42. 
The  Productiox  of  Attar  of  Rose  in  Rumelia  during  the  pre- 
sent year  has  been  attended  with  admirable  success  and  the  income  is 
estimated  to  amount  to  more  than  a  million  francs,  although  the  roses 
yielded  less  of  oil  than  in  1876,  when  the  best  harvest  of  the  past 
decenium  was  obtained.  300,000  metikals  (208  metikals  =  1  kilogram) 
of  the  attar,  possessing  a  value  of  923,077  francs,  w^ere  exported  from 
Philippopolis,  of  which  three-fourths  of  this  quantity  was  produced  in 
the  district  of  Kisanlik,  and  one-fourth  from  Eski  Zaghra  and  Philip- 
popolis. The  exportation  is  chiefly  to  France,  Austria,  America  and 
Germany.  The  French  perfume  manufacturers,  and  particularly  the 
Parisians,  buy  only  the  first  quality  of  attar,  Austria  and  America 
j^urchasing,  as  is  stated,  the  second  quality,  while  the  demands  of  the 
English  perfumers  for  attar  are  supplied  chiefly  by  the  East  Indies. 
The  prices  vary  from  15  to  22  piasters  per  metikal  (=  4  grams). — 
