590 
Quarterly  Review  on 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
<-    December,  1917. 
ten  per  cent,  solution  of  this  salt  in  water  is  made  at  ordinary  tem- 
perature, it  is  then  mixed  with  an  equal  volume  of  a  ten  per  cent, 
solution  of  sodium  carbonate.  The  tube  containing  this  mixture  is 
then  rapidly  immersed  in  a  water-bath  which  has  been  heated  to 
400  C,  the  solution  becoming  at  once  milky.  On  immersing  the 
tube  in  cold  water  the  solution  again  becomes  clear  (/.  Pharm. 
Chim.,  191 7,  15,  359,  through  The  Pharm.  Jour,  and  Pharmacist, 
Sept.  8,  1917). 
Quicksilver. — According  to  a  recent  news  report  the  output  of 
quicksilver  in  this  country  for  the  last  year  shows  a  considerable 
increase.  The  increase  of  last  year  over  the  previous  one  is  over 
three  times.  In  191 5  the  output  was  8,899  bottles  of  75  pounds  each 
and  the  succeeding  year  29,932  bottles.  There  seems  to  be  a  re- 
sumption of  activity  in  many  of  the  old  established  mines,  and 
experiments  are  being  made  with  a  view  of  recovering  metal  that 
was  formerly  lost.  Experiments  are  also  being  made  to  increase 
the  yield  from  low-grade  ores  and  dumps.  Of  this  total  output 
Texas  contributed  6,306  bottles,  all  from  shaft-furnaces,  while 
most  of  the  old  mines  were  reopened,  some  under  new  management, 
to  take  advantage  of  the  higher  prices.  The  output  from  Nevada 
was  2,198  bottles,  and  in  Arizona,  Oregon,  and  Washington  only 
383  bottles  were  obtained.  In  1916  this  country  exported  8,880 
bottles,  the  greater  part  of  which  went  to  England  and  Japan,  p\ 
equal  quantities.  Only  5,659  bottles  were  imported,  the  most  of 
which  came  from  Spain  and  Italy,  chiefly  through  the  port  of  New 
York.  The  average  monthly  price  rose  to  as  high  as  $295  per  bot- 
tle in  February,  in  which  month  as  much  as  $400  per  bottle  was  ob- 
tained for  small  lots.  In  June  the  price  took  a  violent  tumble,  it 
reaching  the  low  price  of  $74.50.  In  the  last  half  of  the  year  the 
average  price  (that  is  to  say  monthly  price)  varied  between  $81.20 
and  $74.50  per  bottle.  At  the  present  time  the  price  is  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  $105  per  bottle. 
Estimation  of  Antipyrine. — The  procedure  described  below 
for  the  iodometric  estimation  of  antipyrine  is  said  to  give  satisfac- 
tory results.  The  methods  are  both  volumetric  and  gravimetric. 
With  the  volumetric  method  99.6  per  cent,  of  the  antipyrine  present 
is  accounted  for:  10  mils  of  an  aqueous  one  per  cent,  solution  of 
antipyrine  are  treated  with  1  gram  of  potassium  bicarbonate  and  an 
excess  of  $j  iodine  solution ;  after  one  hour  the  mixture  is  acidified 
