300  Gleanings  from  the  European  Journals.  {AMjui7tSra*' 
traces  of  ferric  chloride,  in  which  case  it  is  reserved  for  a  subsequent 
purification.*—^.  Jahrb.  f.  Pharm.,  1872,  April,  203. 
The  external  application  of  chloral  hydrate  to  syphilitic  ulcers  has 
been  successfully  tried  in  69  cases  by  F.  Acetella.  After  a  few  ap- 
plications healthy  granulations  were  formed  and  the  ulcer  changed 
into  a  simple  wound.  Several  of  the  cases  were  of  long  standing,  and 
had  resisted  various  treatments  for  12  and  even  15  months.  Ibid., 
2Sl,from  Allg.  Med.  Centr.  Ztg. 
Dry  narcotic  extracts,  when  prepared  with  dextrin,  cannot  be  dis- 
solved in  alcoholic  liquids,  owing  to  the  insolubility  of  dextrin  in  the 
latter.  W.  Stromeyer  prepares  these  extracts  now  with  sugar,  and 
finds  that  they  remain  perfectly  dry.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to 
exsiccate  the  mixture  at  a  temperaeure  not  exceeding  80°  C,  since 
a  higher  temperature  causes  them  to  remain  soft.  Thus  prepared 
they  dissolved  readily  in  the  usual  solvents  by  simple  agitation. — 
Archiv  d.  Pharm.,  1872,  March,  225. 
Action  of  sunlight  upon  olive  oil. — Luigi  Moschini  found  that  olive 
oil,  bleached  by  exposure  to  sunlight,  does  not  alter  its  specific  grav- 
ity ;  if  now  treated  with  sulphuric  acid  (sp.  gr.  1.63)  it  is  colored  red- 
yellow,  not  greenish  ;  by  nitric  acid  or  caustic  soda  it  acquires  a 
whitish  instead  of  a  green  or  light  yellow  color.  Exposed  to  the  sun- 
light in  open  vessels  for  one  month,  the  oil  continues  to  congeal  under 
the  influence  of  nitrous  acid ;  but  after  two  or  three  months  the  oil  re- 
mains liquid,  even  if  treated  with  a  solution  of  nitrate  of  mercury 
saturated  with  nitrous  acid.  The  bleached  oil  has  a  strongly  acid 
reaction,  a  somewhat  rancid  odor  and  taste,  and  dissolves  aniline  red 
easily,  acquiring  a  deep  color. 
It  follows  from  this  that  the  usual  tests  for  the  oils — nitric  acid,  sul- 
phuric acid,  caustic  soda  and  aniline  red — are  apt  to  mislead  if  pure 
olive  oil  has  been  exposed  for  some  time  to  the  sunlight  and  become 
rancid.  Normal  olive  oil  contains  a  yellow  principle,  which  is  col- 
ored green  by  acids,  and  which,  is  decomposed  by  the  sunlight  so  that 
neither  the  acids  nor  caustic  soda  produce  the  characteristic  reactions  ; 
at  the  same  time  free  acids  are  formed,  and  the  olein  gains  one  of 
the  characteristic  properties  of  elaidin. — Chem.  Centr.  Bl.f  1872,  jST. 
17,  from  Landw.  Vers.  Stat.,  xv,  1. 
*  See  also  page  164  of  April  number  Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,  1872. 
