Ao'ctoblrjSm'}    Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  493 
phloroglucin  and  hydrochloric  acid,  cherry  red  to  violet ;  with  hydro, 
chloric  acid  and  naphtol,  blue-green ;  with  hydrochloric  acid  and 
phenol,  green.  Further  investigation  is  yet  to  be  made,  but  these 
preliminaries  are  enough  to  disprove  the  former  idea  that  the  xylem 
reaction  was  due  to  vanillin  or  coniferin.  The  writer  names  his 
product  hadromin.  H.  V.  A. 
OXIDATION  IN  EXTRACTS. 
The  changes  in  constituents  of  vegetable  extracts  are  discussed  by 
Dr.  Stich  (Ph.  Zt.,  1899,  871).  His  work  was  confined  to  ergot 
extracts  and  derivatives,  and  he  found  that  Kellar's  violet  ergot 
reaction  is  given  only  by  fresh  preparations,  and  not  from  most 
commercial  extracts,  nor  from  cornutin  and  ergotinin. 
Thinking  these  negative  results  were  due  to  oxidation,  the  writer 
reduced  the  several  preparations  with  sodium  amalgam,  whereupon 
Kellar'-s  reaction  gave  striking  results.  To  confirm  his  theory,  he 
treated  those  preparations,  originally  giving. Kellar's  reaction,  with 
hydrogen  peroxide,  after  which  the  reaction  was  not  obtained. 
The  oxidation  being  proved,  the  writer  attributes  it  to  oxidizing 
enzymes.  H.  V.  A. 
"  NEW  "   METHOD  OF  PREPARING  TINCTURES. 
An  amusing  instance  of  how  little  the  self-sufficient  German 
knows  of  pharmaceutical  progress  on  this  side  of  the  ocean  is  seen 
in  an  article  by  A.  Schneider  (Ph.  Cent.,  through  Ph.  Zt.,  1900,  36). 
In  this,  the  writer  sagely  states  that  pure  alcohol  or  even  diluted 
alcohol  is  not  the  proper  menstruum  for  all  tinctures  and  extracts; 
that  ammonia  water  should  be  added  to  the  menstruum  of  glycyr- 
rhiza  preparations  ;  glycerin  for  tannin-bearing  drugs,  and  above  all 
— great  novelty — acids  for  alkaloidal  drugs.  The  only  trace  of 
originality  shown  in  the  paper  is  in  the  suggestion  that  the  acids 
could  be  removed  from  the  finished  preparation  by  appropriate 
precipitants — a  method  likely  to  endanger  quality  of  product. 
H.  V.  A. 
ANTIDOTE  FOR  FORMOL. 
M.  Andre  (J.  Pharm.  ct  de  Chini.,  through  Schweiz.  Wochenschr., 
1899,  456)  reports  an  accident  in  which  a  woman  took  a  teaspoon- 
ful  of  40  per  cent,  formaldehyde  solution,  producing  severe  caustic 
effect.    As  the  theoretical  antidote  was  ammonia  (the  reaction 
