450  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  { Amse™.%878arnu 
except  that,  since  the  publication  of  Dr.  Miller's  paper,  in  1875,  it  had 
been  adopted  by  several  writers,  which  certainly  cannot  be  called  a 
refutation  of  his  statement  then  made.  We  acknowledge  the  desira- 
bility of  having  a  single  term  expressive  of  the  fact  that  a  medicine  is- 
recognized  by  the  Pnarmacopoeia  ;  but  we  doubt  the  propriety  and 
correctness  of  the  term  "  official,"  even  at  the  risk  of  being  classed 
with  those  "  in  the  first  make  of  whose  minds  there  is  a  defect." 
Medicines  which  are  regularly  furnished  according  to  the  official  supply 
table  of  the  army  and  navy,  may,  perhaps,  be  called  official  medicines, 
even  though  not  recognized  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  ;  are  they  unofficial,. 
if  not  mentioned  in  the  supply  table,  but  recognized  (or  not)  by  the 
Pharmacopoeia,  and  furnished  upon  special  official  requisition  ? 
In  every  language  there  are  certain  terms  which,  on  close  analysis, 
are  more  or  less  ambiguous,  but  which  are  sanctioned  by  usage. 
What  the  chemist  designates  as  water  is  not  what  is  popularly  known 
or  recognized  as  such  by  our  Pharmacopoeia.  The  albumen  of  the 
botanist  and  of  the  chemist  are  two  entirely  different  substances,  and 
an  aqueous  solution  of  the  one  is  likewise  known  by  the  same  name. 
The  terms  neutral  and,  as  occasionally  still  employed,  saturated,  are  of 
a  similar  character,  and  examples  might  be  considerably  multiplied. 
In  our  opinion  it  is  better  to  adhere  to  a  well  understood,  though 
ambiguous  term,  instead  of  changing  it  for  another,  as  we  believe,, 
equally  ambiguous  one,  about  the  greater  correctness  of  which  grave 
doubts  are  still  entertained. 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  GERMAN  JOURNALS. 
By  Louis  von  Cotzhausen,  Ph.G. 
Purification  of  Chloroform  and  the  Presence  of  Amylic 
Alcohol  in  it. — Hermann  Werner  purifies  commercial  chloroform 
(made  from  alcohol)  by  mixing  it  with  quarter  its  bulk  of  distilled  water, 
shaking  occasionally,  withdrawing  the  water  on  the  following  day,  and 
removing  the  HC1  or  water  which  may  be  present  by  macerating  for 
24  hours  with  sodium  carbonate,  previously  heated  to  redness.  After 
separating  from  the  soda,  the  chloroform  to  be  used  for  anaesthetic 
purposes  is  distilled  on  a  water-bath  at  a  temperature  not  exceeding 
64°C.  \  the  portion  distilling  at  a  higher  heat  is  only  used  externally. 
The  first  portion  of  the  distillate  has  the  lowest  specific  gravity  and  is 
