^ecembefasg™'}     Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  643 
the  volume  of  the  carbonic  anhydride  evolved  is  less  than  that  of 
the  oxygen  absorbed  so  long  as  any  tannin  remains  unaltered.  As 
soon  as  all  the  tannin  has  disappeared,  pectin  is  produced.  If  the 
temperature  is  so  low  that  the  cellular  activity  is  not  great,  the  res- 
piration quotient  remains  lower  than  unity;  but  if  the  temperature 
is  so  high  that  the  cellular  activity  requires  more  energy  than  is 
furnished  by  the  free  oxygen,  the  cellules  obtain  the  necessary 
energy  from  the  alcoholic  fermentation  of  the  sugars,  the  carbonic 
anhydride  produced  by  it  being  added  to  that  produced  by  respira- 
tion, and  thus  giving  a  quotient  higher  than  unity.  It  follows  that 
one  of  the  principal  functions  of  tannins  in  fruits  is  to  prevent  pectic 
transformations,  and  thus  check  the  fermentation  of  the  sugars. 
Direct  experiments  with  the  fruit  of  Dyospyros  kaki  show  that 
the  disappearance  of  tannins  does  not  involve  an  increase  in  the 
amount  of  sugar,  and  experiments  on  the  respiration  of  Sterigma- 
tocystis  nigra  on  a  solution  of  nut-gall  tannin  lead  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. In  fruits  containing  tannins,  the  latter  disappear  as  the 
result  of  complete  oxidation,  without  forming  any  carbohydrates. — 
Journal  of  the  Chemical  Society ',  London,  October,  1897. 
LICORICE  ROOT  GROWN  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 
In  the  Northern  Star,  Mr.  W.  Finselbach,,  Ph.D.,  Lismore,  N.  S.  W., 
mentions  that  at  a  recent  local  agricultural  show,  the  Govern- 
ment Experimental  Farm  exhibited  two  samples  of  Spanish  licorice 
root,  the  stolens  or  suckers,  only  two  years  old,  being  12  feet  long. 
While  a  student  under  Professor  Fliickiger,  in  Strassburg,  and 
while  travelling  in  Italy,  he  had  frequently  examined  three  and  four- 
year-old  roots,  running  from  9  to  10  feet  long,  showing  that  the 
soil  and  climatic  conditions  of  the  Lismore  district,  at  any  rate,  were 
very  favorable  to  the  growth  of  the  plant.  He  states  that  he  has 
made  an  analysis  of  the  samples  exhibited,  and  finds  them  to  be  of 
first-class  quality,  although  they  have  not  secured  full  maturity. 
In  parts  of  Italy  he  saw  the  licorice  cultivated  on  maize  fields.  The 
plant  requires  three,  and,  in  wet  seasons,  even  four,  years,  to  mature, 
and  the  general  custom  where  licorice  is  grown  rationally  is  that  a 
crop  of  another  kind  should  be  found  on  the  same  field.  An  acre 
in  Europe  is  said  to  produce  three  or  four  tons  of  the  roots,  worth 
on  the  London  market  \2s.  to  165.  per  cwt.  There  is  a  large  con- 
sumption of  the  root  in  the  United  Kingdom,  Mr.  Finselbach  says, 
