AlA£u8t,imm*}    Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  379 
Barium  Dioxide. — This  chemical,  which  is  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  hydrogen  peroxide,  is  imported  from  Germany.  Of  fifteen 
(15)  casks  examined,  five  (5)  were  below  the  U.S.P.  requirements, 
averaging  72*76  per  cent.  Ba02  (U.S. P.,  80  per  cent.). 
Great  difficulty  was  also  experienced  in  properly  hydrating  this 
product,  and  the  hydrogen  peroxide  made  from  it  was  below  the 
standard  strength  in  most  cases.  The  other  ten  (10)  casks  averaged 
8609  per  cent.  Ba02,  and  were  perfectly  satisfactory,  both  as 
regards  hydration  and  strength  of  the  resulting  product. 
RECENT  LITERATURE  RELATING  TO  PHARMACY. 
A  STUDY  OF  VANILLA. 
A  recent  German  governmental  publication  contains  a  paper  on 
vanilla,  by  W.  Busse  (abstract  in  Ap.  Zeil.,  1898,  894).  It  begins 
with  the  history  of  the  drug  and  then  emphasizes  the  success  of  its 
culture  in  German  Africa.  An  account  of  the  harvesting  of  the 
bean  then  follows,  which,  beside  describing  the  usual  fermentation 
(Mexican)  process,  mentions  a  second  method  of  preparation — dip- 
ping in  hot  water,  drying  in  sun  and  oiling. 
After  reciting  the  several  commercial  varieties,  ranging  in  value 
from  the  Mexican  to  the  Tahiti  (which  contains  piperonal  as  well 
as  vanillin),  the  writer  reports  a  careful  stuJy  of  the  anatomy  of  the 
fruit,  of  which  the  most  portion  relates  to  the  oil-secreting  papilla 
on  the  interior. 
On  the  chemistry  of  the  drug,  the  writer  particularly  emphasizes 
the  fact  that  vanillin  strength  is  not  the  sole  criterion  of  value.  He 
suggests  as  a  vanillin  assay,  extraction  of  the  fruit  with  ether,  re- 
moval of  vanillin  from  the  solution  by  agitation  with  sodium  bisul- 
phite solution,  separation  of  the  vanillin  from  this  by  treatment 
with  sulphuric  acid,  evaporation  of  the  developed  sulphurous  oxide 
and  extraction  of  the  freed  vanillin  with  ether.  H.  V.  Arny. 
ANALYTICAL  VALUE  OF  VITALl's  REACTION. 
For  identification  of  atropine,  two  striking  tests  are  known.  The 
first  is  the  floral  aroma,  produced  on  'oxidizing  the  alkaloid  or  its 
salts;  while  the  second — the  so-called  Vitali's  reaction — is  the  violet- 
blue  color,  produced  when  the  alkaloid  is  evaporated  to  dryness 
