352  Gleanings  from  the  European  Journals.  {A\l°gX\mM' 
The  residue  left  after  exhausting  the  precipitate  by  ammonia  with 
ether,  was  treated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid  and  purified  by  animal 
charcoal.  The  filtrate,  on  evaporation,  yielded  crystals  containing 
sulphate  of  lime,  which  were  exhausted  with  alcohol.  This  solution 
produced  crystals  of  the  same  appearance  as  obtained  in  the  precipi- 
tate by  the  iodohydrargyrate,  and  the  two  are  probably  identical. 
Their  nature  has  not  been  ascertained,  except  that  they  are  the 
salt  of  an  alkaloid.* 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  EUROPEAN  JOURNALS. 
By  the  Editor. 
Generation  of  Hydrocyanic  Acid  from  Nitro-  Compounds. — Wohler 
observed  in  1828,  that  picric  acid,  on  being  treated  with  baryta  water, 
yields  hydrocyanic  acid.  Julius  Post  and  H.  Hubner  observed  that 
nitro-  and  dinitrobenzol  yield  the  same  acid  when  treated  with  caustic 
alkalies,  the  former  with  fusing  potassa,  the  latter  with  boiling  dilute 
solutions  of  potassa.  The  authors  intend  to  investigate  other  nitro- 
and  amido-compounds. — Ber.  d.  d.  Cem.  Geo.  zu  Berlin,  1872,  N.  9. 
Estimation  of  Uric  Acid. — H.  Schwanert  has  found  that  uric  acid 
whether  precipitated  by  muriatic  acid  from  its  soda  solution,  from  the 
urine  of  healthy  or  of  leucsemic  persons,  remains  partly  in  solution, 
so  that  for  every  100  c.c.  of  liquid  0-0048  gram,  must  be  added  to  the 
weight  of  the  precipitate,  corroborating  the  researches  of  Zabelin.f 
The  proposed  method  of  Solkowski, %  to  precipitate  first  with  muriatic 
acid,  and  after  supersaturation  with  ammonia,  by  nitrate  of  silver, 
decomposing  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and  precipitating  by  muriatic 
acid,  may  sometimes  occasion  a  loss  of  uric  acid. — Ibid.,  No.  7. 
Estimation  of  the  Commercial  Value  of  Carbolic  Acid. — To  ascer- 
tain the  amount  of  pure  carbolic  acid,  Schsedler  converts  it  into  sul-  i 
pho-carbolic  acid,  operating  as  follows :  2  or  3  grammes  of  the  acid 
are  heated  in  the  waterbath  to  expel  alcohol,  if  present ;  an  equal 
quantity  of  sulphuric  acid  is  added,  and  the  mixture  digested  between 
50  and  60°  C,  (122  and  140°  F.,)  afterwards  diluted  and  saturated 
*  This  alkaloid,  if  not  identical  with,  seems  at  least  to  bear  some  resemblance 
to,  chelidonina,  which  has  an  acrid  taste,  dissolves  in  alcohol  and  in  ether  on  pro- 
longed boiling,  and  yields  salts  having  a  bitter  taste. — Ed.  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
f  Annalen  d.  Chem.  u.  Pharm.  Suppl.  ii,  313. 
X  Yirchow's  Archiv.  Hi,  60. 
