106  The  Letter  of  the  Law.  {AmFeZm*Tm' 
citric  acid  and  sodium  bicarbonate  may  be  added. — Jour,  de  Pharm. 
et  de  Chim.,  December,  1893,  p.  527. 
Malacine  is  a  salicylic  derivative  of  phenacetine,  has  the  form  of 
small  pale  yellow  crystals,  insoluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in  hot 
alcohol ;  the  mineral  acids,  even  in  feeble  solution,  decompose  it 
into  salicylic  aldehyde  and  phenacetine.  Dr.  A.  Jaquet,  who  studied 
its  therapeutic  action,  considers  it  an  antirheumatic  which  is  usually 
well  borne  and  produces  no  untoward  effects. — Semaine  Medicate  ; 
Nouv.  remedes,  October,  1893,  P-  4^5- 
Gallop  aratoluide  was  obtained  by  M.  Cazeneuve  in  the  form  of 
small  crystalline  plates,  fusing  at  21 1°,  slightly  soluble  in  cold 
water,  but  very  soluble  in  boiling  water,  alcohol  and  ether.  Hydro- 
chloric acid  decomposes  it  into  gallic  acid  and  paratoluidine ;  pro- 
tected from  the  air,  the  caustic  alkalies  do  not  attack  it  even  at  the 
boiling  point,  but  in  contact  with  air  they  gradually  transform  it  by 
oxidation. —  Compt.  rend,  de  V  Academie  des  Sciences,  Nov.,  1893. 
Administration  of  castor  oil. — M.  Patein  advises  the  administration 
of  castor  oil  in  an  emulsion  of  the  following  formula :  Castor  oil, 
30  gm.;  syrup  of  almond,  30  gm.;  syrup  of  acacia,  30  gm.;  pepper- 
mint, 10  gm.;  distilled  water,  50  gm.  To  the  mixture  of  the  two 
syrups,  the  oil  is  added,  then  the  two  distilled  waters,  mixing  inti- 
mately after  each  addition. — Petit  Monit.  de  la  Pharm.,  Oct.,  1893,  p. 
1353. 
THE  LETTER  OF  THE  LAW — SEQUEL  OF  A 
CELEBRATED  CASE.1 
Rarely  is  such  a  measure  of  interest  accorded  a  legal  process  by 
the  pharmaceutical  and  medical  world  as  was  aroused  some  two  and 
a  half  years  ago  by  the  famous  Nux  Vomica  suits  in  the  Atlantic 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  New  Jersey.  A  brief  review  of  those 
proceedings  and  of  the  curious  solution  which  time  has  recently 
effected  in  the  legal  complications,  will  not  be  devoid  of  profit. 
The  plaintiff  in  both  these  cases  was  George  W.  McGuire,  State 
Dairy  Commissioner  for  New  Jersey,  and  criminal  action  was 
brought  by  him  against  the  two  defendants,2  on  the  charge  that 
1  Reprinted  from  the  Bulletin  of  Pharmacy,  January,  1894. 
2  The  defendants  were  Harry  B.  Leeds,  and  Albert  D.  Cuskaden,  druggists, 
and  the  expenses  of  the  defence  were  borne  by  Parke,  Davis  &  Co. 
