Am  octuyiS7arm'}    Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.  489 
that  most  of  the  difficulty  occurs,  as  the  products  of  the  several 
methods,  although  seemingly  similar  when  superficially  examined,  are 
very  dissimilar  when  closely  scrutinized. 
These  experiments,  which  extended  over  a  period  of  five  months, 
were  to  have  been  concluded  by  determinations  of  vapor  density, 
coefficiency  of  expansion,  and  specific  gravity  at  the  various  tempera- 
tures, when  they  were  cut  short  by  the  approach  of  warm  weather. 
ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  FRENCH  JOURNALS. 
[Translated  for  the  American  Jouenal  of  Pharmacy.] 
Bisulphide  of  Carbon  for  Pulmonary  Affections.  Dr. 
Guerra  Estape,  (Revista  de  Ciencia  Med. ;  Nouveaux  Pemedes,  Aug. 
8,  1887),  claims  to  have  cured  several  cases  of  chronic  bronchitis  and 
one  of  consumption,  with  this  remedy.  Experiments  made  upon  him- 
self seemed  to  show  that  the  medicament  was  largely  eliminated  by 
the  lungs ;  air  from  the  lungs  conveyed  by  means  of  a  glass  tube 
through  Fehling's  solution,  gave  a  flocculent  precipitate  of  sulphate  of 
copper.  The  medicine  gave  rise  to  no  unpleasant  symptoms  and  was 
effective  when  a  mixture,  as  follows,  was  administered  in  doses  of  15 
gm.  once  daily :  Sulphide  of  carbon,  25  gm. ;  water,  500  gm.  ;  ess. 
menth.  30  drops.  Patients  were  forbidden  to  use  alcohol,  its  being 
liable,  according  to  the  author,  to  act  upon  the  bisulphide  in  the  blood, 
thus  forming  sulphuretted  hydrogen. 
Research  of  Potassic  Nitrate  in  the  Chlorate.  Jorissen 
(Jour,  de  Phar.,  Antwerp,  July  ;  Arch,  de  Phar.,  September  5th),  gives 
a  short  method  based  on  the  transformation  of  nitric  into  nitrous  acid,  un- 
der the  influence  of  nascent  hydrogen  ;  and  upon  the  use  of  Griess'  re- 
agent, the  hydrochlorate  of  metadiamidobenzol,  which  is  now  in  gen- 
eral use  in  laboratories  for  finding  nitrous  acid.  A  few  grammes  of 
the  chlorate  to  be  examined  are  heated  in  a  test-tube  with  ten  ccm.  of 
distilled  water;  let  stand  a  while  and  decant;  add  three  drops  acetic 
acid  (concent.),  and  a  fragment  of  pure  distilled  zinc  ;  let  stand  five  or 
ten  minutes,  remove  the  zinc  and  add  a  few  drops  of  the  reagent  of 
Griess.  If  a  nitrate  is  present  in  the  chlorate,  the  mixture,  on  agita- 
tion, will  turn  red.  The  color  grows  deeper  and  deeper,  and  in  the 
presence  of  one  per  cent,  of  nitrate  becomes  brown.  The  test  is  sen- 
sitive to  minute  quantities. 
