298  Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.    {Am  j*°uer;  jST™' 
dog.  Diuresis  is  caused  by  2  or  3  millig'm.  and  purgation  by  5  milli- 
g'm. 8.  It  augments  the  excretion  of  uric  acid,  and  diminishes  its 
quantity  in  the  blood.  Its  extremely  toxic  nature  suggests  great  cau- 
tion in  its  use. 
Coniine  Bromhydarte  has  been  used  successfully  for  rheumat- 
ismal  tetanus.  After  one  injection  of  0*0025  gm.  of  the  alkaloid  (to  a 
child  of  ten  years,)  the  trismus  diminished  greatly,  and  the  violence 
and  frequence  of  the  attacks  were  lessened  after  the  second  dose.  After 
five  doses  all  of  the  characteristic  symptoms  ceased.  The  action  of  the 
remedy  was  especially  shown  in  the  relaxing  effects  on  the  terminal  ex- 
tremities of  the  motor  nerves.  The  writer  (Bull.  Gen.  de  Therap.  ;  Cen- 
tralbl.  Med.  April  15,)  noted  a  marked  diminution  of  the  cutaneous 
and  tendinous  reflexes,  and  in  the  rapidity  and  irregularity  of  the  res- 
piration— followed  by  augmentation  of  the  salivary  secretion — after 
each  dose  of  the  medicament.  See  also  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.  1886,  p. 
357. 
Effects  of  Narceine. — Brown-Sequard  and  Laborde  experi- 
mented a  good  while  on  the  physiological  effects  of  narceine  before 
they  found  out  that  "  there  was  something  wrong."  Then  the  chemist, 
Duquesnel,  was  called  in  and  discovered  that  the  narceine  was  ex- 
tremely impure.  Pure  narceine  produces  a  much  quieter  sleep  than 
morphine. 
Composite  Piils. — The  Bulletin  Commercial,  April,  states  that 
Dr.  Granville's  idea  of  making  "  concentric  composite  pills,"  i.  e., 
putting  the  medicaments  in  layers,  so  that  the  outer  one  will  become 
dissolved  in  the  stomach  while  the  inner  drug  acts  upon  the  intestine, 
was  invented  by  Le  Couppey,  whose  pills  were  exhibited  in  1878,  and 
consisted  of  iron  and  extract  of  cinchona  separated  by  a  thin  layer  of 
sugar,  the  whole  being  coated  with  sugar.  Jisy's  idea  for  pre- 
serving certain  ferrous  salts,  like  the  carbonate  and  iodide,  was  also  a 
good  one  ;  he  dried  and  powdered  separately  the  salts  yielding  those 
compounds,  mixed  them,  and  at  once  surrounded  them  by  gelatin  in 
the  ordinary  way. 
French  Wines. — The  small  vine  growers  of  France  now  sell 
their  whole  product.  Wines  for  their  personal  use,  are  made  usually  from 
raisins,  but  they  color  them  just  as  carefully  as  though  they  were  to 
be  offered  for  sale.  An  effort  is  being  made  to  stop  the  sale  of  wine 
colorants,  and  the  question  arises,  "  Cannot  a  Frenchman  color  wine 
for  his  own  consumption  ? 
