GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  GERMAN  JOURNALS. 
215 
completely  insoluble.  It  dissolves  bromine  and  sulphuret  of 
carbon  in  all  proportions.  It  does  not  dissolve  silicium,  telluri- 
um, arsenic,  antimony,  bismuth,  tin,  nor  their  oxides  or  chlorides. 
GLEANINGS  FEOM  GERMAN  JOURNALS. 
By  Jno.  M.  Maisch. 
Mannite  in  the  leaves  of  Ligustrum  vulgare,  Linn.,  was  found 
and  analyzed  by  A.  Kromayer,  who  exhausted  the  leaves  gath- 
ered in  July  by  hot  water,  decanted,  evaporated  to  one-half, 
precipitated  by  acetate  of  lead,  removed  from  the  filtrate  the  ex- 
cess of  lead  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and  obtained  mannite 
from  the  liquid  by  crystallization.  Polex  showed  the  presence 
of  mannite  in  privet  in  1838. — (Arch.  d.  Pharm.  cli.  281 — 284.) 
Copper  in  snuff  was  detected  by  A.  Hirschberg.  He 
found  in  1  zollpound,  (i  kilogram.)  -897,  and  in  another  sort 
6.283  grs.  copper,  determined  as  oxide  from  the  ashes  (Arch.  d. 
Ph.  cli.  284,  285.) 
An  improvement  of  Liehig's  condenser  is  proposed  by  Feld- 
haus,  who  suggests  to  bend  a  glass  tube  8  feet  in  length,  com- 
mencing about  13  inches  from  its  upper  end,  in  zig-zag  form 
nearly  at  right  angles,  the  whole  being  in  the  same  plane,  the 
length  of  each  bend  about  five  inches,  and  the  first  and  last  of 
half  this  length,  so  as  to  bring  both  ends  in  a  straight  line.  The 
outer  tube  is  made  of  tinned  sheet  iron  ;  oval  instead  of  round  ; 
the  lower  part  receives  the  glass  tube  with  its  bends  horizontal, 
and  the  ends  fixed  by  means  of  corks  ;  afterwards  the  upper 
portion  is  soldered  on.  The  condensing  surface  is  thus  doubled. 
•—(Arch.  d.  Ph.  cli.  285,  286.) 
Unripe  jigs  contain  a  caustic  juice  which  destroys  the  skin 
and  produces  violent  inflammation  of  the  eye.  By  boiling,^  a 
caoutchouc-like  elastic  mass  is  separated,  which,  when  spread  on 
paper  or  linen,  reddens  the  skin,  and  produces  pustules  and  ery- 
sipelas ;  spontaneous  fermentation  likewise  separates  it;  the  fil- 
trate is  then  almost  tasteless.  This  principle  is  soluble  in  alco- 
hol, ether  and  fixed  oils.  The  small  figs  are  collected  in  March, 
carefully  peeled,  then  immersed  in  water  until  they  become  soft 
