GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  GERMAN  JOURNALS. 
107 
Ground  Pimento. — Of  35  samples,  12  were  pronounced  pure. 
The  foreign  material  in  the  others,  appeared  to  be  clove  stems, 
sandal  wood,  other  colored  woods,  oil  cake,  and  perhaps  chicory 
coifee. 
Ground  Cinnamon. — This  spice  seems  to  be  adulterated  with 
many  kinds  of  wood ;  mahogany  and  cedar  wood  have  been 
recognized  in  the  commercial  article,  though  the  substitution 
of  inferior  kinds,  in  the  place  of  the  finer  varieties  of  this  bark 
appears  to  be  the  most  common  method  of  sophistication.  15 
samples  out  of  42  examined,  proved  to  be  genuine  Chinese  cin- 
namon. 
Ground  Ginger. — 9  samples  out  of  32  examined,  were  com- 
posed of  pure  bleached  ginger.  13  specimens  contained  the 
flour  of  peas,  lentils  or  beans.  2  lots  consisted  entirely  of  tur- 
meric. By  the  aid  of  polarized  light  and  a  magnifying  power  of 
200  to  500  diameters,  the  starch  grains  of  the  peas,  lentils  and 
beans  were  readily  distinguished  from  those  of  the  ginger.  By  a 
power  of  200  diameters  the  yellow  colored  cells  of  the  turmeric 
may  plainly  be  recognized. — Poly  t.  Centrallehalle,  Vierteljh.  Ph. 
Bd.  xiii.  p.  85. 
GLEANINGS  FROM  GERMAN  JOURNALS. 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
Nitrates  in  Marsh's  Apparatus. — Dr.  Bieckher  found  that 
metallic  bismuth  is  separated  in  the  apparatus  if  nitrate  of  bis- 
muth, zinc  and  chlorhydric  acid  react  upon  each  other,  and 
that  scarcely  any  hydrogen  is  evolved  which  reduces  the  oxide 
of  bismuth  and  the  nitric  acid  ;  the  latter  is  found  in  the  con- 
tents of  the  flask  as  ammonia.  The  author  believes  this  to  be 
a  good  method  for  the  direct  estimation  of  nitric  acid  in 
nitrates,  nitrous  ether,  &c  (N.  Jahrb.  1863,  July  3.) 
Carbonate  of  Potassa,  nearly  pure,  is  prepared  by  O.  Wir- 
sching  by  deflagration  of  a  mixture  of  two  parts  pure  nitrate  of 
potassa  and  one  of  charcoal.  Hager  recommended  some  years 
ago  to  purify  charcoal  by  washing  it  with  dilute  muriatic  acid 
and  then  use  one  part  of  it  to  3  of  pure  saltpetre.-— (Neues 
Jahrb.  f.  Ph.  xx.  17.) 
