Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
March  1,  1872.  J 
Notes  on  Pareira. 
107 
water,  3-8  sugar,  1*9  butter,  2*7  casein  and  0*1  salts.  On  the  second 
day  after  commencing  to  use  galega,  it  was  composed  of  90*2  water, 
4*4  sugar,  2-3  butter,  3*6  casein  and  0*1  salts. — Ibid.,  from  Aerztl. 
Mitth.  a.  Baden. 
Rudbeckia  laciniata,  Lin.,  in  Europe. — An  interesting  history  of  the 
introduction  of  this  North  American  plant  into  Europe,  is  given  by 
A.  Kerner,  in  Zeitschr.  d.  allg.  oesterr.  Apoth.  Ver.,  1871,  No.  35. 
It  appears  that  it  was  received  and  cultivated  at  Paris  by  Vesp. 
Robin  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  following  century  was  used  as  an  ornamental  plant  in 
many  parts  of  Europe.  It  is  now  found  wild  in  many  parts  of  North- 
ern and  Eastern  Germany,  Austria,  Hungary  and  Switzerland. 
Test  solutions  for  Grape-sugar. — Julius  Loewe  recommended,  in  1870, 
u  solution  of  oxide  of  copper,  soda  and  glycerin,  wrhich  he  reports  to 
be  entirely  unaltered,  after  having  been  kept  for  about  eighteen 
months  in  the  dark  and  in  diffused  daylight.  15*305  grm.  hydrated 
oxide  of  copper  (equal  to  40  grm.  pure  crystallized  copper  sulphate), 
30  grm.  glycerin,  80  c.  c.  soda  solution,  sp.  gr.  1*34,  and  1*60  c.  c. 
water  are  heated  with  160  c.  c.  water  in  a  water-bath  until  solution 
is  effected,  when  it  is  diluted  to  1155  c.c,  10  c.c.  of  which  are  equiv- 
alent to  0*050  grm.  anhydrous  grape  sugar  ;  the  solution  is  not  decom- 
posed by  boiling. 
The  author  has  also  modified  Boettger's  reagent  so  as  to  obtain  a 
permanent  solution  of  bismuth,  as  follows  :  15  grm.  subnitrate  of  bis- 
muth, 30  grm.  glycerin,  60  to  70  c.c.  soda  solution,  sp.  gr.  1*34,  and 
150  to  160  c.c.  water  yield,  on  heating  in  a  water-bath,  a  clear  solu- 
tion, which  may  be  diluted  to  700  or  800  c.c.  without  producing  a  de- 
posit. —Zeitschr.  f.  anal.  Ohem.,  1871,  452. 
NOTES  ON  PAREIRA. 
By  Edward  R.  Squibb,  M.  D. 
Pareira  Brava  is  a  drug  which  has  withstood  the  mutations  of 
therapeutics  and  commerce  for  nearly  two  hundred  years,  and  it  is  a 
singular  and  significant  fact,  in  view  of  its  commercial  history,  that  it 
has  sustained  a  sound  reputation  with  many  critical  observers. 
It  appears  to  have  been  introduced  to  European  practice  from  Por- 
tugal, but  its  sources  were  Mexico,  tropical  South  America,  and  the 
West  Indies.    Under  a  name  so  indefinite  as  "  wild  vine,"  or  "  bas- 
