Amoari8P78arm'}  Gleanings  from  the  French  Journals.  4.77 
same  time  stirring  well.  Only  distilled  water,  or  such  which  is  free 
from  lime,  should  be  employed  for  precipitating  subnitrate  of  bismuth. 
— Jour,  de  Pharm.  et  de  Chim.,  August,  p.  147-156. 
Lead  in  Subnitrate  of  Bismuth. — Carnot  has  recently  proposed 
to  dissolve  10  grams  of  the  subnitrate  in  hydrochloric  acid,  concentrate 
the  solution  to  a  syrupy  consistence,  add  a  little  sulphuric  acid  and  then 
alcohol,  which  will  retain  the  chloride  and  sulphate  of  bismuth  in  solu- 
tion, while  the  sulphate  of  lead  is  precipitated  (see  page  318).  Chapuis 
and  Linossier  have  found  this  method  defective,  and  propose  the 
following  process  :  3  grams  of  the  salt  are  boiled  with  4  cc.  of  a  10 
per  cent,  solution  of  a  caustic  soda  and  sufficient  (about  4  cc.) 
of  a  10  per  cent,  solution  of  yellow  chromate  of  pottasium  to  render 
the  liquid  yellow.  The  clear  liquid  is  decanted  and  the  residue  again 
boiled  with  1  cc.  of  soda  solution,  a  few  drops  of  chromate  and  2  or 
3  cc.  of  water.  The  liquid  is  filtered  and  the  filtrate  acidulated  with 
acetic  acid,  when  chromate  of  lead  is  precipitated.  One-fiftieth  per 
cent,  of  lead  may  thus  be  detected  if  the  acidulated  filtrate  is  permitted 
to  cool. — Ibid.,  p.  156-159. 
Falsification  of  Lycopodium. — Stan.  Martin  has  observed  an 
adulteration  of  lycopodium  with  dextrin,  which  may  be  recognized  by 
macerating  a  portion  in  water  for  one  hour  with  occasional  agitation, 
filtering  the  liquid  and  evaporating  it  to  dryness,  when  the  dextrin 
will  be  left  as  an  inodorous  yellowish  mass.  Pure  lycopodium,  when 
ignited  in  a  crucible,  leaves  a  pulverulent  charcoal  of  a  dull  black 
color;  if  mixed  with  dextrin,  inflammable  gases  are  given  off,  burning 
with  a  blueish  flame,  and  the  charcoal  will  be  glossy  and  porous. — 
Bull.  gen.  de  The* rap.,  May  15,  p.  410. 
Pomegranate  Bark. — On  exhausting  powdered  bark  of  pomegranate 
root  with  ether,  Durand  obtained  a  little  chlorophyll.  Alcohol  now 
took  up  a  little  brown-yellow  resin,  besides  some  principles  soluble  in 
water  which  were  not  examined.  The  bark  was  now  mixed  with  milk 
of  lime,  the  mixture  dried,  exhausted  with  alcohol,  the  tincture 
evaporated,  filtered,  mixed  with  ammonia  and  then  agitated  with 
chloroform,  on  the  evaporation  of  which  a  brown-yellow  residue  was 
left.  This  had  an  alkaline  reaction  ;  by  combining  with  an  acid, 
docomposing  with  ammonia  and  agitating  with  chloroform  it  was 
■  obtained  in  whitish  crystals.    The  solution  in  acetic  acid  yields  a  white 
