304 
Salicylates  of  Mercury. 
\  Am.  Jour.  Phann. 
I      .Tune,  1882. 
0*05  gram  of  the  rhizome,  whieh  is  to  be  boiled  with  10  cc.  of  water. 
On  the  addition  of  ammonia  the  color  of  the  flocks  changes  to  dirty 
yellow,  but  the  original  color  is  restored  on  the  addition  of  acid.  The 
results  are  less  satisfactory  if  sulphuric  acid  is  employed  in  place  of 
hydrochloric  acid.  The  rootlets  of  helle!)ore  give  but  slight  traces 
of  helleboretin.  The  reaction  is  not  ol)tained  with  the  rhizome  of 
Actaea  spicata  or  with  senega. — Jour.  Med.  Phai'macol.  RruxelleSy 
1881,  p.  347. 
Nigella  Seeds. — H.  G.  Greenish  found,  that  the  seeds  of  Nigella 
damascena  yield  fluorescent  solutions  with  petroleum  spirit,  but  con- 
tain no  melanthin,  whilst  the  seeds  of  N.  sativa  do  not  yield  a 
fluorescent  solution,  but  contain  melanthin  (see  January  number,  p. 
10).  The  seeds  of  the  two  species  are  in  commerce  sometimes  found 
mixed,  but  may  be  easily  separated  by  picking  when  once  the  eye  has 
become  accustomed  to  recognize  the  difference ;  those  of  N.  sativa  are 
obovate,  three-  or  four-sided,  and  without  transverse. furrows,  the  face 
being  finely  pitted ;  those  of  N.  damascena  are  somewhat  angular  and 
the  seed-coat  is  covered  with  transverse  furrows  or  network. — Phar^ 
Jour,  and  Trans.,  Febr.  18,  1882,  p.  681. 
SALICYLATES  OF  MERCUEY. 
By  H.  Lajoux  and  A.  Grandval. 
Abstract  of  a  paper  in  the  Journal  de  Pharmacie  [5],  vol.  v,  p.  89. 
Salicylic  acid  is  an  acid  phenol,  and  its  formula  may  be  written  r 
f  CO  H 
CgH^^  From  this  double  function  it  results  that,  as  a  mono- 
valent acid,  it  can  decompose  carbonates,  and  form  a  first  series  of  salts 
in  which  the  atom  of  H  in  the  group  COjH  is  replaced  by  an  atom  of 
a  monatomic  metal.    These  salts  have  for  their  general  formula  r 
f  CO 
CgH^  I  If  the  metal  is  diatomic  the  formula  becomes : 
2^CgIl4<|  Oh)^^^^     These  salts  are  the  normal  salicylates. 
Like  phenol,  salicylic  acid  possesses  the  property  of  replacing  also 
the  hydrogen  of  the  OH  by  an  atom  of  monatomic  metal.  It  follows 
that  the  salicylates  derived  from  the  acid  function  can  further  form 
by  direct  combination  with  bases,  or  by  double  decomposition,  a 
second  series  of  salts,  called  neutral,  which  have  for  a  general  formula  : 
