VARIETIES. 
371 
from whom we shall hear the plea for <•' unrestricted commerce," and the 
potency of the great laws of trade as in themselves sufficient for the pro- 
tection of life and health, are those whose prototypes aforetime cried out 
" Great is Diana of the Ephesians." 
The value of their opinions may be measured by the sincerity of their 
professions, and the weight of their testimony calculated by the percentage 
of their gains. 
I have pursued my inquiries among drug importers and jobbers, meeting 
both friends and enemies of the law; among retail apothecaries, profes- 
sional men and their patients, and my conclusions are that no more popular 
act stands upon our congressional record. 
I have only to add my sincere wish that it may long stand as a mark of 
the enlightened wisdom of the age and nation. — N. Y. Jour. PJiar. Sept. 1852. 
[The above report is but the general report upon the working of the law. 
It was, we understand, accompanied by a second private and detailed one, re- 
gardiug the manner in which, at different localities, the law has been carried 
out. — Editor N. Y. Jour. Pharm.] 
On the Preparation of Anhydrous Acetic Acid. By M. Charles Gerhardt. 
— The author states that he has succeeded in preparing anhydrous acetic 
acid in a state of perfect purity, and giving by analysis numbers exactly 
agreeing with those calculated from its formula. It is obtained by mixing 
perfectly dry fused acetate of potash with about half its weight of chloride 
of benzoyle, and applying a gentle heat, when a limpid liquid distils over, 
which, after being rectified, has a constant boiling point of 279° F., is 
heavier than water, with which it does not mix until after it has been agi- 
tated with it for some time. It dissolves at once in hot water, forming hy- 
drated acetic acid. — London Chem. Gaz., June 5, 1852. 
Estimation of the Quantities of Free Acids in the Juices of Fruit. By M- 
Gr^eger. — The juices under examination are mixed with neutral tartrate of 
potash, and the amount of free acids calculated' from the quantity of bitar- 
trate of potash which separates. To determine the amount of free tartaric 
acid in a juice, a second portion is divided into two equal parts ; the one is 
neutralized with potash, and the other half of the juice now added, and the 
amount of acid calculated from the quantity of precipitated bitartrate of 
potash. — London Chem. Gaz., from Jahrb.fUr Prakt Pharm., xxiii, p. 293. 
Mixtures for Colored Fires. By Prof. Marchand. — The following re 
cipes for the preparation of mixtures for colored fires were found among 
the posthumous papers of the late Prof. Marchand. The materials are 
ubbed to a fine powder separately, and then mixed with the hand : 
