'^^'^Aprii'i^ss"!^'"*}         Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica.  175 
keeping  it  in  its  place.  The  fire  is  then  lighted  and  kept  up  for  six- 
teen hours.  The  whole  is  then  allowed  to  cool.  When  the  top  pan 
is  removed  the  vermilion,  together  with  the  greater  part  of  the  broken 
porcelain,  is  attached  to  it  in  a  coherent  mass,  which  is  easily  separated 
into  its  component  parts.  The  surfaces  oT  the  vermilion  which  were 
attached  to  the  porcelain  have  a  brownish-red  and  polished  appear- 
ance, the  broken  surfaces  being  somewhat  brighter  and  crystalline. 
Third  Step. — The  sublimed  mass  obtained  in  the  second  step  is 
pounded  in  a  mortar  to  a  coarse  powder,  and  then  ground  with  water 
between  two  stones,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  grinding  corn.  The 
resulting  semi-fluid  mass  is  transferred  to  large  vats  of  water,  and 
allowed  to  settle,  the  supernatant  water  removed,  and  the  sediment 
dried  at  a  gentle  heat ;  when  dry,  it  is  again  powdered,  passed  through 
a  sieve  and  is  then  fit  for  the  market. — Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans., 
December  17,  1881. 
GLEANINGS  IN  MATERIA  MEDICA. 
By  the  Editor. 
Amygdalus  Gommunis. — In  a  thesis  recently  presented  to  the  Cali- 
fornia College  of  Pharmacy  Martin  J.  Murphy  states  that  almonds  are 
grown  in  most  parts  of  that  State  and  that  considerable  loss  was  caused 
by  frosts  in  districts  unsuited  to  the  culture.  The  almond  tree  does 
best  in  the  coast  mountain  valleys  in  the  central  and  southern  parts  of 
the  State,  where  they  are  protected  from  the  frosts  and  cold  winds,  and 
are  supplied  with  atmospheric  moisture.  The  variety  best  suited  to  the 
climate  is  the  Languedoc,  which  is  a  late  bloomer  and  thrifty  grower. 
About  one  hundred  trees  are  planted  to  the  acre,  yielding  fruit  when 
3  years  old  of  an  average  value  of  $50,  4  years  $200,  5  years  $500,  6 
years  $1,000,  7  years  $1,500,  8  years  $2,000,  older  trees  bearing 
more  fruit.  The  average  price  of  sweet  almonds  is  14  cents,  and 
of  bitter  almonds  10  cents  per  pound ;  the  latter  are  not  cultivated 
to  any  great  extent  in  California.  The  bleaching  j)rocess,  employed 
for  giving  the  almonds  uniform  appearance  and  for  destroying  insects, 
consists  in  burning  sulphur  upon  trays  on  w^hicli  the  almonds  are 
placed.  In  three  experiments  the  author  obtained  from  California 
bitter  almonds  39*5,  34*  and  32*7  per  cent,  of  fixed  oil  (by  expres- 
sion ?). 
Heteromeles  arbutifoliay  J.  Roemer,  nat.  ord.  Rosacese,  is  known  as 
