392  Gleanings  from  the  European  Journals.  {k™slltX*vn*' 
Adulteration  of  Opium. — G.  Righini  received,  as  best  Smyrna 
opium,  small  cakes  of  about  100  grm.,  carefully  wrapped  in  leaves, 
of  strong  odor  and  hard  in  consistence.  Internally  the  cakes  con- 
tained small  globular  bodies,  paler  in  color,  and  fragments  of  dark 
green  leaves,  which  appeared  to  be  cut  tobacco  leaves,  and  amounted 
to  30  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  The  opium  yielded  only  4  per  cent, 
morphia. — Ibid.,  445.    Annali  di  Ohimica. 
Xylol  in  Small-pox. — According  to  the  experience  of  A.  Burkhart, 
xylol  neither  hastens  the  appearance  of  the  eruption,  nor  does  it 
shorten  the  different  stages  of  the  disease  ;  it  has  neither  an  anti- 
febrile, nor  a  specific  action ;  but,  by  its  action  upon  the  eruption  in 
the  throat,  and  the  angina  accompanying  it,  xylol  may  save  the  lives 
of  patients,  and  in  this  respect  it  far  surpasses  chlorate  of  potassa 
and  chlorinated  lime.  This  action  alone  is  sufficient  to  render  xylol 
an  important  and  indispensable  remedy  for  pustular  small-pox.  Its 
deodorizing  and  disinfecting  properties  make  it  the  more  valuable. — 
N.  Jahrb.f.  Pharm.,  1872,  June,  347.    Aerztl.  Intelligenzbl. 
Active  Princiijle  of  Ergot. — The  toxical  constituent  of  ergot  is, 
according  to  the  physiological  experiments  of  Eug.  Haudelin,  soluble 
in  water,  but  nearly  insoluble  in  alcohol ;  it  dissolves  in  diluted  alco- 
hol in  the  presence  of  acetic  acid,  from  which  solution  it  is  partly  pre- 
cipitated unaltered.  When  treated  with  hydrate  of  baryta,  it  is  de- 
composed. Treatment  with  corrosive  sublimate  and  tannin  alters  this 
principle  and  destroys  its  activity.  Iodide  of  bismuth  and  potassium 
precipitates  it  incompletely.  The  author  argues,  therefore,  that  ecbo- 
lina,  obtained  by  Wenzell  from  the  precipitate  with  corrosive  subli- 
mate, and  ergotina,  obtained  from  the  filtrate,  cannot  be  the  real 
active  principles  of  ergot. — Ibid.,  March,  157. 
Distilled  Lavender  Water  is  preferred  by  Dr.  Delioux,  and  regarded 
as  superior  to  rose  and  water  plantain  water  in  affections  of  the  eye  ; 
in  slight  opthalmias  it  answers  as  a  wash,  for  severer  ones  it  is  the 
best  vehicle  of  collyria. — Rep.  de  Pharm.,  1872,  June,  458.  Bullet, 
therap. 
Cement  for  Glass  and  Porcelain  Vessels. — J  oz.  of  Russian  isin- 
glass is  soaked  in  distilled  water  until  it  has  swelled  considerably  ; 
the  excess  of  water  is  then  poured  off  and  enough  alcohol  added  to 
