Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
Sept.,  1878.  J 
Varieties. 
45? 
alcohol.  The  platinochloride,  2(C32H50NO9.HCl).PtCl4,  is  a  similar  bulky  amor- 
phous yellow  precipitate,  easily  soluble  in  alcohol,  less  soluble  in  water,  and 
insoluble  in  ether.  The  mercuric  compound,  C32H50NO9.HCl  -f-  HgCl2,  is  a  white 
crystalline  precipitate,  soluble  with  comparative  facility  in  water,  readily  soluble 
in  alcohol,  but  insoluble  in  ether. 
The  two  other  modifications  of  veratria  appear  from  the  results  of  the  analysis 
to  have  the  same  formula  as  that  of  crystalline  veratria,  and  their  platinum  salts  are 
of  similar  character  and  constitution.  All  these,  are,  therefore,  isomeric,  but  their 
difference  in  constitution  has  not  yet  been  ascertained. — lbid.y  June,  1878,  from 
Arch.  Pharm.  [3],  x,  511 — 532. 
Curarina.  By  T.  Sachs. — According  to  the  author's  investigations,  curare  is 
soluble  to  the  extent  of  75  per  cent,  in  cold  water.  The  curarina  contained  in  it  is- 
in  combination  with  sulphuric  acid,  not  with  acetic  acid,  as  stated  by  Roulin  and 
Boussingault.  The  formula  of  curarina,  as  deduced  from  analysis  of  the  picrate,, 
is  C18H3.N.  Curarina  hydrochloride  and  sulphate  are  both  very  unstable,  and  not 
crystallizable.  Solution  of  curarina  acetate  gives  with  sodium  chloroplatinate  a  bulky 
yellowish-white  precipitate  of  the  formula  2(C18H35N,HC1)  -f-  PtCl4,  which 
speedily  decomposes,  assuming  a  violet  color.  The  acetate  gives  precipitates  also 
with  potassium  and  mercury  iodide,  potassium  and  cadmium  iodide,  potassium  cyano- 
platinite,  potassium  chloroplatinite,  gold  chloride,  tannin,  picric  acid,  potassium  and 
mercury  chloride,  sodium  phosphate,  sodium  arsenate,  potassium  iodate,  potassium 
tbiocyanate,  and  potassium  ferrocyanide  and  ferricyanide. 
Preyer's  statements  with  regard  to  curarina  {Zeitschr.  f.  Chem.,  viii,  381)  are,  to- 
a  great  extent,  erroneous.  A  specimen  of  Preyer's  "  curarina  sulphate,"  examined 
by  the  author,  was  found  to  consist  mainly  of  calcium  phosphate  and  carbonate.— 
Ibid.,  June  1878,  from  Liebigs  Annalen,  cxci,  254 — 260. 
The  Action  of  Phosphoric  Acid  on  Calcium  Carbonate.  By  H.  Ritthausen. — - 
An  aqueous  solution  of  phosphoric  acid  acts  on  precipitated  chalk,  forming  small 
needle-shaped  crystals  of  di-calcium  phosphate,  Ca2H2P208;  the  tri-phosphate  is 
never  formed.  The  crystalline  character  of  the  phosphate  renders  it  possible  to 
detect  very  small  quantities  of  this  substance,  even  in  presence  of  a  large  excess  of 
calcium  carbonate,  by  means  of  the  microscope.  The  finely-divided  chalk  con- 
tained in  marl  deposited  in  the  beds  of  streams  or  ponds  is  easily  attacked  by  phos- 
phoric acid.  Dense  particles  of  calcium  carbonate  in  marl,  which  are  scarcely 
acted  on  by  phosphoric  acid,  are  converted  into  di-calcium  phosphate  by  the  simul- 
taneous action  of  carbonic  and  phosphoric  acids. — Ibid.,  March,  1878,  from  Land. 
Versuchs-Stat.,  xx,  401-407. 
The  Behavior  of  Iodine  to  Amido-mercuric  Chloride,  in  Presence  of  Alcohol  ; 
and  a  Safe  Method  of  Preparing  Iodide  of  Nitrogen.  By  R.  Bottger. — Although 
iodine  may  be  ground  in  a  mortar  along  with  amido-mercuric  chloride,  with  no 
