Am  Jour  Pharm.  I  Varieties.  421 
Aug.,  1881.  j 
On  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  grape-sugar  to  a  hot  solution  of 
the  i)ropiolic  acid  in  dihite  potash  needle-shaped  crystals  of  pure  indigo- 
blue,  free  from  indirubin,  are  deposited.  This  method  yields  a  better 
result  than  is  obtained  by  the  direct  production  of  indigo  from  orthouitro- 
dibromocinuamic  acid. 
Orthonitrophenylchlorolactic  acid,  CyH^ClNOg,  is  formed  together  with 
orthonitrochlorostyrol  when  chlorine  is  passed  into  a  solution  of  orthonitro- 
cinnamic  acid  in  dilute  soda  solution.  The  bye-product  is  removed  by 
filtration,  and  the  filtrate  acidified  and  extracted  with  ether. 
The  residue  obtained  by  evaporating  the  ethereal  extract  is  dissolved  in 
benzin  and  the  solution  mixed  with  light  petroleum,  when  the  chloro- 
lactic  acid  is  precipitated  as  a  white  crystalline  mass  (m.  p.  119°).  This 
acid  is  converted  into  indole  by  reduction  with  sodium  amalgam  or  with 
ferrous  sulphate  in  an  alkaline  solution. 
By  the  action  of  alcoholic  i^otash  it  is  converted  into  orthonitrophenyl- 
oxyaGryliG  acid,  CgH^jSTOg.  When  slowly  heated  orthonitrojihenyloxy- 
acrylic  acid  begins  to  melt  at  110°  Avitli  decomposition,  carbonic  oxide  and 
indigo-blue  being  formed.  This  acid  is  also  split  up  by  continued  boiling 
with  water  or  dilute  sulphuric  acid. — Journ.  of  Chem.  iS'oc,  May,  1881,  from 
Ber.,  xiii,  p.  2254-2263. 
VARIETIES. 
Tupelo  Tents  for  Dilating  the  Uterus.— Dr.  Landau  ("Medical 
Times  and  Gazette,"  vol.  i,  1881,  p.  327  ;  from  "  Volkmanii's  Samml.  Klin. 
Vortrage"),  in  a  lecture  on  methods  of  dilating  the  cervix  uteri,  strongly 
recommends  the  tupelo  tent,  made  from  the  root  and  stem  of  the  Nyssa 
aquatica.  He  says  these  tents  expand  more  uniformly  than  laminaria 
tents,  and  their  coefficient  of  expansion  is  somewhat  greater  than  that  of 
any  other  tent.  In  expanding  they  produce  the  same  softening  and  infil- 
tration of  the  uterine  tissues  as  other  tents.  They  do  not  tend  to  septic 
infection  ;  and  therefore  antibeptic  precautions  need  not  be  rigidly  carried 
out  where  they  are  used.  One  tent  may  be  kept  in  three  or  four  hours, 
and  then  replaced  by  another.  The  cavity  of  the  uterus  may  thus  be  made 
-accessible  to  the  finger  within  twenty-four  hours.  In  two  j^ears'  use  Dr. 
Landau  has  seen  no  ill  effects  from  their  employment. — Phila.  Medical 
Times,  June  4. 
Slippery  Elm  Root  Dilators. — Dr.  L.  B.  Tuckerman,  of  Austinburg, 
Ashtabula  county,  O.,  gives  the  following  information  about  the  making 
of  these  dilators  in  the  Boston  "Med.  and  Surg.  Journal,"  Jan.  13,  1881: 
"  The  fresh  root  is  cut  into  lengths,  and  can  be  bent  at  any  desired  curve, 
and  thus  dried.  When  thoroughly  dry,  the  rough  exterior  is  scraped  off. 
The  end  is  dipped  about  two  inches  into  water,  and  heated  over  a  lamp. 
A  series  of  parallel  longitudinal  cuts  is  then  made,  nearly  perpendicular 
to  the  bark,  and  through  it  to  the  wood  beneath.  The  cuts  are  from  one- 
"eighth  to  one-twelfth  of  an  inch  apart,  and  reach  from  the  end  of  the  stick 
