500 
GLEANINGS — MISCELLANEO  US. 
soluble  in  ammonia,  with  phosphomolybdic  acid  a  voluminous 
yellowish  white,  with  bichloride  of  platinum  a  yellowish  grey, 
with  terchloride  of  gold  a  bright  yellow,  with  bichloride  of 
mercury  a  voluminous  white,  afterwards  flocculent,  with  iodine 
an  orange  brown  precipitate ;  no  coloration  was  produced  by 
this  alkaloid  with  oxidizing  agents. 
It  will  be  seen  from  these  experiments  that  this  uncrystallizable 
alkaloid  had  very  nearly  the  same  behaviour  as  pure  cocaina, 
the  principal  difference  being  the  reaction  with  iodine,  which 
with  the  former  is  of  a  somewhat  lighter  color  with  a  slight  yellow 
tinge.  Heat,  it  appears,  therefore,  renders  it  amorphous  ;  what 
part  the  water  and  carbonate  of  soda  take  in  this  change  must 
be  determined  by  experiments  with  the  pure  alkaloid.  But  it  is 
very  likely  that  the  yellowish  brown  matter,  which  Dr.  Niemann 
found  so  difficult  to  separate  from  cocaina,  is  this  same  alkaloid 
in  an  amorphous  state. 
My  experiments  likewise  render  it  more  than  probable,  that 
the  substance  named  cocatannic  acid  by  Dr.  Niemann,  is  a  pro- 
duct of  oxidation,  the  original  compound  of  which  yields  with 
acetate  of  lead  from  a  slightly  ammoniacal  solution  no  precipi- 
tate, but  after  previous  oxidation  by  the  atmosphere,  precipitates 
it,  and  the  precipitate  has,  according  to  the  length  of  exposure, 
a  color  varying  from  white  to  yellow  and  brown.  As  it  is  so 
readily  affected  by  the  atmospheric  oxygen,  great  care  is 
necessary  in  its  separation  from  the  other  constituents. 
Fhiladelphia^  Se'pt.  1861. 
GLEANINGS— MISCELLANEOUS. 
Tubular  Condenser  Mr.  Thomas  Keates,  of  London,  ex- 
hibited, at  the  April  meeting  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society,  a 
tabular  condenser,  possessed  of  great  effectiveness.  It  consists 
of  a  tinned  copper  cylinder,  three  feet  long  and  eight  inches  in 
diameter,  divided  into  three  apartments  by  two  diaphragms 
placed  about  four  inches  from  either  end.  The  upper  and  lower 
chambers  are  connected  by  about  twelve  tinned  copper  tubes 
half  an  inch  in  diameter,  smoothly  soldered  in  above  and  dip- 
ping half  an  inch  into  the  lower  chamber.  The  middle  chamber 
