1 88 
Varieties. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
\      April,  1877. 
can  be  washed  off,  and  caustic  potassa  does  not  color  the  fibres 
yellow  =  Cotton. 
0.  The  red  color  (by  fuchsin)  can  not  be  washed  off  5  the  fibres  are 
colored  yellow  by  caustic  potassa  : 
y.  Iodine  and  sulphuric  acid  color  yellow  =  Hemp, 
z.  Color  blue  =  Flax. 
2.  Chlorine  water  and  ammonia  colors  reddish-brown,  and  the  fibres  are 
colored  red  by  nitric  acid  ==  Phormium. 
b.  Chloride  of  zinc  dissolves  part  of  it  or  not  at  all : 
1.  Insoluble  ;  colored  black  by  lead  salt  —  Wool. 
2.  Partially  soluble. 
«.  The  soluble  part  is  not  blackened  by  lead  salt  =  Silk. 
P.  The  insoluble  is  blackened  by  lead  salt  =  Wool. 
c.  Chloride  of  zinc  dissolves  everything  in  the  cold  5  the  alkaline  solution  is  not 
blackened  by  lead  salt  =  Silk. — H.  M.  W.  from  Ny  Pharm.  Tid.,  1877, 
p.  45- 
Variations  in  the  Use  of  Medicines — Some  interesting  statistics  are  given  m 
the  "Archives  Generales  "  on  the  amount  of  some  new  remedies  supplied  by  the 
medical  men  of  the  Assistance  Publique.  In  1869,  the  Central  Pharmacy  dis- 
tributed 141  kilograms  of  chloroform  against  308  kilograms  in  1875.  Chloral 
showed  a  still  more  rapid  increase.  In  1869  only  5  kilograms  were  required  ;  while 
in  1875  360.}  were  consumed.  Iodoform,  from  250  grams  in  1859,  rose  to  28  kilo- 
grams in  1875;  bromide  of  potassium  rose  from  about  3  kilograms  in  1855  to 
nearly  800  kilograms  in  1875  5  opium  showed  but  small  variations,  but  the  same 
cannot  be  said  of  morphia,  no  doubt  from  the  general  use  of  hypodermic  injections, 
for,  from  275  grams  in  1875  tne  amount  rose  to  the  enormous  quantity  of  more 
than  io,oco  grams.  A  very  large  augmentation  in  medicinal  substances  was 
also  seen  in  the  alcohol  used  in  the  hospitals  and  infirmaries  of  Paris.  Thus,  in 
1855,  the  Assistance  Publique  only  appropriated  1,270  litres  of  alcohol  to  the  use 
of  the  sick,  while,  in  1875,  37>5  78  litres  were  used.  The  same  increase  is  notice- 
able in  rum  and  red  wine.  The  use  of  white  wine  was  sensibly  diminished  The 
use  of  leeches  has  gone  nearly  out  of  fashion.  In  1834  and  the  following  years  up 
to  1837,  the  number  of  leeches  employed  exceeded  a  million  ;  in  1874  the  number 
had  fallen  to  49,000  only.  The  consumption  of  sulphate  of  quinia  is  on  the  in- 
crease, and  represents  53,734  grams  in  1875  against  24,525  in  1855. — Med.  and  Surg, 
Rep.,  Feb.  24. 
Test  of  Bile — Dr.  James  Sawyer  says,  in  a  note  to  "  The  Lancet  "  on  the  use 
of  iodine  as  a  test  for  bile  in  urine  :  "  I  have  used  this  test  for  nearly  ten  years,  my 
first  knowledge  of  it  having  been  gained  from  Flint's  '  Practice  of  Medicine.'  I 
have  found  it  best  to  place  two  or  three  drops  of  iodine  liniment  in  a  test-tube,  and 
then  to  add  about  two  drachms  of  the  suspected  urine.  If  the  coloring-matter  of 
bile  be  present  the  mixture  will  assume,  on  agitation,  a  brilliant  sea-green  color. 
This  is  a  ready  and  reliable  test,  and  one  which  I  have  long  preferred  to  all  others 
with  which  I  am  acquainted. — New  York  Med.  Jour.,  Feb. 
