Am,iu°g.%877.rm'}  Gleanings  from  the  Foreign  Journals.  405 
oil  of  mustard  is  produced,  but  that  at  the  same  time  allyl  sulphocya- 
nide  is  formed,  which  was  recognized  by  warming  the  oil  with  alco- 
holic solution  of  potassa,  acidulating  and  testing  with  ferric  chloride, 
when  an  intense  red  coloration  is  produced,  indicating  the  presence  of 
sulphocyanide. — Ibid.,  p.  187. 
The  artificial  oil  of  mustard  of  commerce,  according  to  Dr.  E. 
Mylius,  is  not  identical  with  that  obtained  from  the  seeds,  as  has  been 
stated  by  Dr.  Schacht  and  others.  He  found  in  a  sample  of  500  gms., 
by  subjecting  it  to  fractional  distillation,  *02  per  cent,  hydrocyanic  acid, 
•8  sulphide  of  carbon,  92*2  allyl-mustard-oil,  4/0  polysulphides,  prob- 
ably allyl  trysulphide,  and  about  3  per  cent,  of  nitrogenated  sulphur 
compounds,  which  are  not  volatile  without  decomposition.  The  poly- 
sulphides, more  particularly,  impart  to  the  oil  a  very  disagreeable  odor. 
The  author  believes  that  by  careful  rectification  on  a  large  scale  a  pure 
colorless  article  might  be  obtained,  which  still  could  be  sold  below  the 
price  of  the  natural  oil.  The  artificial  oil  seems  to  be  obtained  by  the 
distillation  of  a  mixture  of  an  allylsulphate  with  potassium  sulphocya- 
nide.— Arch.  d.  Phar.,  March,  p.  207-213. 
Oxalate  of  Cerium. — H.  G.  Greenish  has  examined  six  samples  of 
this  salt,  and  found  them  all  to  be  contaminated  with  some  lead,  iron, 
magnesium  and  sulphuric  acid  ;  several,  also,  with  chlorine  and  cal- 
cium, and  one  with  aluminium.  Five  of  the  samples  lost  by  incinera- 
tion nearly  the  quantity  (52  per  cent.)  required  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  ; 
the  sixth  lost  only  32*,  and  a  sample  of  German  origin  44*8  per  cent. 
One  of  the  samples  was  used  for  estimating  lanthanum  and  didymium, 
which  amounted  to  68'2,  the  cerium  only  to  29  per  cent,  of  the  basyl- 
ous  radicals.  The  presence  of  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  former 
renders  it  doubtful  whether  the  therapeutic  action  attributed  to  cerium 
is  due  to  that  metal  alone,  or  whether  it  is  shared  equally  by  the  lan- 
thanum and  didymium,  with  which  in  commercial  samples  the  cerium 
seems  to  be  always  combined. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  May  12. 
Presence  of  Ammonia  in  Bismuthi  Subnitras. — W.  G.  Piper  has 
observed  that  commercial  subnitrate  of  bismuth  usually  contains  small 
and  variable  quantities  of  ammonia,  which  he  supposes  to  be  derived  from 
the  action  of  the  metallic  bismuth  upon  the  nitric  acid,  probably  accord- 
ing to  the  equation  2Bi2+  i5HN03=4Bi3N03+6H20+NH3+N203.. 
