GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  FRENCH  JOURNALS. 
253 
25  per  cent,  of  the  solid  salt,  which  can  be  added  to  any  reme- 
dies not  chemically  incompatible,  and,  where  pills  are  ordered, 
the  mass  rendered  firm  by  the  addition  of  powd.  althsese  and  gum 
acaciae.  In  many  cases  the  syrup  forms  an  excellent  excipient 
for  the  pills,  where  powders  are  ordered  in  combination  with 
iodide  of  iron. 
Oleum  Peponis  Seminis. 
Having  seen  a  sample  of  this  oil,  with  the  history  of  which  I 
was  entirely  ignorant,  I  prepared  a  small  quantity  to  ascertain 
the  appearance  and  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  genuine 
article.  The  process  adopted  was  that  recommended  by  Mr.  W. 
B.  Tegetmeier,  in  the  May  number  of  the  American  Journal  of 
Pharmacy  for  this  year,  by  exhausting  the  crushed  seeds  by 
means  of  bisulphide  of  carbon. 
The  yield  was  33J  per  cent,  of  a  thick  red  oil,  rather  rank 
taste,  little  smell,  except  when  rubbed  upon  the  hand,  and  having 
sp.  gr.  -928,  at  a  temperature  of  60°  F. 
Dec.  9, 1864. 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  FRENCH  JOURNALS. 
By  the  Editor. 
Use  of  kinovic  acid  in  medicine. — E.  De  Yry.  Analysis  has 
proved  that  this  acid  exists  in  the  leaves  and  root  wood  of  the 
Cinchonas  to  the  extent  of  2*57  per  cent.,  and  that  it  has  the 
power  of  breaking,  in  a  great  many  cases,  pernicious  and  non- 
pernicious  fevers. 
These  facts  observed  on  an  hundred  Dutch  soldiers,  leaves  no 
room  for  aoubt.  It  was  also  tried  in  diarrhoea  and  dysentery, 
with  marked  success. 
M.  De  Yry  thinks,  therefore,  that  it  will  be  possible  to  collect 
the  leaves  of  the  cinchonas,  and  prepare  a  tincture  which  will 
serve  as  a  prophylactic  against  jungle  fevers,  in  localities  where 
they  are  endemic. 
Quinine  manufacturers  waste  considerable  quantities  of  kinovic 
acid.  M.  De  Vry  is  certain  that  the  barks  of  all  the  plants  of 
the  genus  Nauclea,  which  abound  in  the  forests  of  Java,  con- 
tain notable  quantities. — Jour,  de  Chim.  Med. 
