AM jan™;  iP874RM' }   Detection  of  Solania  and  Solanidia.  21 
centrated  nitric  acid,  and  to  indigo  blue,  fading  to  dirty-red  and 
brown,  by  sulphuric  acid. 
Turmeric  in  Mustard. — In  ''mustard  condiment"  turmeric  will  be 
found  by  the  same  process,  though  like  the  gilding  on  otto  bottles,  it 
is  generally  expected,  and  not  so  likely  to  disturb  a  proper  estimation 
of  the  quality;  besides,  it  seems  to  serve  an  important  purpose  in 
keeping  the  article  presentable  for  a  week  or  more  after  being  made, 
while  a  pure  flour  soon  becomes  unsightly,  and  has  to  be  renewed  for 
table  use  almost  daily. 
Mustard  branded  "genuine,"  should  contain  no  turmeric. 
Other  applications  of  the  principle  involved  in  this  test  will  no 
doubt  suggest  themselves  to  many  pharmacists. — Pharm.  Journal, 
Nov.  1,  1873. 
THE  DETECTION  OF  SOLANIA  AND  SOLANIDIA. 
By  Professor  Francois  Salmi. 
The  author,  in  a  memoir,  presented  to  the  Institute  of  Bologna, 
demonstrates  that  solania,  in  an  acid  solution,  and  at  a  temperature 
beyond  10°  or  11°C,  is  in  twenty-four  hours  decomposed  partially 
into  solanidia  and  other  products.  After  remarking  that  this  decom- 
position would  nearly  always  take  place  in  the  viscera,  he  points  out 
that  although  toxicologists  are  acquainted  with  some  characteristic 
reactions  of  solania,  they  are  as  yet  unacquainted  with  the  means  of 
detecting  solanidia.  This  has  led  Professor  Salmi  to  investigate  the 
subject,  and  to  publish  in  his  memoir  what  he  considers  to  be  the 
most  characteristic  tests  for  the  presence  of  solania  and  its  derivative. 
The  principal  reagents  for  solania  are — 
1.  Brominated  hydrobromic  acid,  which  gives  a  violet  coloration. 
2.  Dilute  sulphuric  acid  reduces  it  by  eremacausis,  giving  a  violet- 
red  coloration. 
3.  Nitric  acid  and  an  alkali  give  a  pale  yellow  color. 
4.  Sulphuric  acid  and  arsenic  or  phosphoric  acid,  added  succes- 
sively, give  a  red  coloration. 
5.  Traces  of  chloride  of  platinum  give  a  purple  coloration. 
6.  Phosphoric  acid  and  traces  of  molybdic  acid  give  the  same 
purple  color. 
7.  Brominated  hydrobromic  acid  gives  rise  to  long  acicular  crystals 
if  the  combination  be  treated  with  water  and  evaporated  to  dryness. 
