VARIETIES. 
467 
plosion,  a  fire,  and  one  or  two  deaths.  Now  M,  Fournier  suggests  another 
way,  which  is  very  simple,  and  perfectly  safe.  He  charges  the  pipes  with 
ammoniacal  gas,  and  then  goes  along  them  with  a  bottle  of  hydrochloric 
acid.  Our  readers  know  the  rest.  M.  Fournier  claims  one  of  the  Month- 
yon  prizes  for  his  invention. —  Chem.  News,  London,  June  23,  1860,  from 
Cosmos,  Liv.  xix.,  1860. 
Oast  Platinum. — At  the  last  sitting  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  MM. 
Deville  and  Debray  exhibited  two  ingots  of  platinum  weighing  together  a 
little  over  55  lbs.  av.,  which  had  been  melted  in  the  same  furnace,  and  run 
into  an  ingot  mould  of  forged  iron.  The  furnace  used  was  that  described 
in  the  Chemical  News,  Vol.  1,  page  6.  The  authors  announce  that  plati- 
num may  be  melted  in  any  quantity,  and  once  melted  it  behaves  precisely 
like  gold  or  silver,  requiring  exactly  the  same  precautions  as  in  casting  the 
precious  metals.  They  also  exhibited  a  platinum  cog-wheel,  cast  in  an  or- 
dinary sand  mould,  in  the  same  way  as  other  metals,  thus  giving  a  new 
proof  of  the  possibility  of  giving  platinum  all  the  forms  that  may  be  desired 
by  their  process. —  Chem.  News,  London,  June  23,  1860. 
Gas  Leakage  Nuisance. — It  is  reckoned  that  about  386,000,000  of  cubic 
feet  of  gas  escape  per  annum  in  the  metropolis — or,  in  other  words,  that 
about  1,000,000  cubic  feet  a  day  of  that  delicious  vapor  is  let  loose  in  an 
unburned  state  upon  London  society.  Some  authorities  reckon  the  quan- 
tity at  about  2,000,000  feet  per  diem.  The  loss  in  hard  cash  comes  up  to 
about  £50,000  per  annum. — Am.  Med.  Times,  New  York,  July  14, 1860,  from 
Med.  Times  and  Gazette. 
Glycerole  of  Kino. — Dr.  William  S.  Love  has  handed  us  a  specimen  of 
the  above  preparation  in  the  proportion  of  two  drachms  of  kino  to  the  fluid 
ounce  of  glycerin.  Dr.  Love  suggests  this  preparation  as  a  substitute  for 
tincture  of  kino  in  cretaceous  mixtures  :  it  mixes  readily  with  water,  form- 
ing a  transparent  solution,  and  seems  to  be  a  permanent  preparation,  as 
he  has  kept  it  for  a  considerable  length  of  time  without  apparent  change.  
Jour,  and  Tr.  Md.  Col.  Pharm.  March,  1860. 
Ginseng. — A  letter  from  St.  Petersburg,  dated  24th  December,  states 
that  a  scientific  expedition  has  been  organised,  under  the  direction  of  M. 
Maak,  to  describe  the  interesting  valley  of  Oussory,  as  well  as  the  south- 
east of  the  Mantchoo  territory  to  the  frontiers  of  Corea,  and  to  examine 
specially  the  ginseng  (a  renowned  medicinal  plant,)  to  study  the  geographi- 
cal extent  of  the  Mantchoo  territory  where  this  plant  is  propagated,  and 
particularly  the  places  in  which  it  grows  naturally,  and  to  examine  and 
describe  the  plantations  of  the  Chinese  who  cultivate  it.  A  great  number 
of  Russians  propose  to  establish  plantations  of  ginseng  as  an  important 
produce  for  trade  with  China. — Pharm.  Jour.  London^  Feb.  1,  1860. 
