466 
Varieties. 
{  Am.  Jodr.  Pharm. 
\     Oct.  1, 1872. 
Mr.  Th.  Morson  pointed  out*  that  glycerin  is  also  a  good  test  for 
the  purpose  under  notice,  creasote  being  not  or  almost  not  soluble  in 
that  liquid,  whereas,  as  it  is  well  known,  carbolic  acid  readily  mixes 
in  all  proportions  with  glycerin.  This  notice,  however,  requires,  I 
beg  to  observe,  a  slight  modification.  True  creasote,  which  stands 
the  above  test,  is  perfectly  miscible  in  any  proportion  with  anhydrous 
or  nearly  anhydrous  glycerin,  but  it  is  not  so  with  a  somewhat  diluted 
glycerin ;  a  clear  solution  of  creasote  and  of  the  same  weight  of  an- 
hydrous glycerin  becomes  turbid  on  addition  of  a  little  water,  whereas 
a  similar  solution  of  carbolic  acid  may  be  diluted  with  water  without 
separation  of  carbolic  acid.f 
The  blue  coloration  of  carbolic  acid,  due  to  perchloride  of  iron,  en- 
ables us  to  discover  it  when  mixed  with  creasote,  but  not  to  prove  the 
presence  of  creasote  in  carbolic  acid.  The  latter  question,  however, 
seems  to  me  of  less  practical  importance  ;  yet,  creasote,  if  present  to 
some  extent,  would  quickly  separate  in  the  above  process,  a-\-b-\-c-\-d, 
if  more  water  be  added.  For  this  purpose  the  addition  of  perchloride 
of  iron  would  be  useless. — Pharm.  Journ  and  Trans.,  June  15, 1872. 
Ammonium  Compound  of  Cantharidin.  Dr.   E.  Masing. — Cantharidin 
combines  with  ammonium,  but  this  body  is  a  rather  unstable  compound,  and 
cannot  be  obtained  in  solid  state  except  by  evaporation  of  the  solution  of  can- 
tharidin in  ammonia  in  vacuo.    The  composition  of  this  substance  is — 
NH4  0,HO,C2o  Hi2  08 
In  100  parts — 84*85  of  cantharidin,  and  7*79  of  ammonium.  The  author  men. 
tions  that  other  compounds  of  these  bodies  exist,  and  also  speaks  of  an  amido 
combination  of  cantharidin  which  is  soluble  in  chloroform.  Chem.  News 
Lond.,  Aug.  23,  1872,  from  Pharm.  Zeitsch.f.  Russland,  No.  1,  1872. 
Nicotina  an  Antidote  to  Strychnia. — A  case  of  poisoning  by  strychnia  which 
was  successfully  treated  with  nicotina  has  been  published  in  the  "  British  Med. 
ical  Journal"  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Houghton,  F.R.S.,  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 
When  the  treatment  commenced,  the  patient,  a  lad  nineteen  years  of  age,  was 
violently  convulsed,  his  pupils  were  dilated  and  his  arms  and  legs  were  rigid. 
*Phakm.  Journ.,  May,  1872,  p.  921.  Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,  July,  1872,310. 
f  The  glycerin  employed  by  Mr.  Morson  was  the  ordinary  distilled  glycerin 
of  commerce,  and  he  "considers  the  advantage  of  the  test  suggested  by  him  to 
consist  in  its  simplicity  and  easy  application. — Ed.  Pharm.  Journ. 
