402  Gleanings  from  the  Foreign  Journals.  {A%£^*71^rm* 
gent  and  acrid  taste  ;  the  dust  is  sternutatory.  It  is  probably  identical 
with  saponin.  By  heating  the  powder  in  sealed  tubes,  by  boiling  its 
aqueous  solution,  and  by  the  influence  of  emulsin,  yeast  or  dilute  acids, 
cyclamin  is  split  into  uncrystallizable  sugar  and  white,  inodorous  and 
tasteless  cyclamiretin,  C15H2202. 
Primulin  obtained  from  the  roots  of  primula  was  found  to  be  identi- 
cal with  cyclamin.  Primula  camphor  obtained  by  distillation  of  the 
root,  has  a  fennel  or  anise-like  odor  ;  its  taste  is  at  first  burning,  then 
sweetish.  It  is  sparingly  soluble  in  water,  the  solution  acquiring  a 
deep  violet  color  with  ferric  chloride.  Its  composition  is  C22H24O10 ; 
on  boiling  with  potassa  it  yields  salicylic  acid  and  a  small  quantity  of 
another  acid,  which  is  colored  deep  blue  by  ferric  chloride. — Zeitschr. 
Oest.  Apoth.  Ver.,  No.  8,  from  Ann.  d.  Chem. 
Asparagin  in  Sweet  Almonds. — L.  Portes  has  obtained  30  grms. 
of  crystallized  asparagin  by  treating  11  kilos  of  almonds  with  90  per 
cent,  alcohol ;  by  using  absolute  alcohol  a  larger  proportion  could  be 
obtained. — Jour,  de  Phar.  et  de  Chim.,  Jan.,  1877,  p.  30. 
Strophantus  hispidus,  D.  C,  or  Inee,  an  apocynaceous  plant,  is 
used  in  tropical  Africa  as  an  arrow  poison.  E.  Hardy  and  N.  Gallois 
have  isolated  a  poisonous  principle,  strophantin,  of  considerable  toxic 
power,  quickly  causing  cessation  of  the  heart's  action  when  injected 
into  a  frog.  It  was  obtained  from  the  seeds  freed  from  the  hairs,  by 
macerating  them  in  alcohol  slightly  acidulated  by  hydrochloric  acid, 
evaporating,  treating  the  extract  with  cold  water  and  evaporating  spon- 
taneously. The  crystals  are  white,  soluble  in  water,  slightly  soluble 
in  alcohol  and  chloroform ;  it  contains  no  nitrogen  and  is  not  a  glucoside. 
The  hairs  subjected  to  a  similar  treatment  yielded  a  crystalline  alkaloid, 
inein,  which  did  not  stop  the  movements  of  the  heart. — Phar.  Jour, 
and  Trans.,  March  17 — Comp.  Rend.,  lxxxiv,  p.  261. 
The  juice  of  the  sugar  cane,  according  to  Arno  Behr,  contains 
aconitic  acid,  which  was  obtained  from  the  preserved  juice  and  from 
crude  sugar,  from  the  latter  to  the  amount  of  C149  per  cent.  Some 
Cuban  sugars  separated  from  their  aqueous  solutions  minute  crystals  of 
aconitate  of  calcium.  Pure  aconitic  acid,  obtained  from  this  source 
and  from  citric  acid,  was  found  to  fuse  at  187  to  1880  C.  ;  the  lower 
fusing  point  usually  given  is  due  to  impurities. 
The  author  found  also  oxalic  acid  in  the  precipitate,  obtained  by  dis- 
