Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Jan.  1, 1874.  / 
Varieties. 
33 
pecting  the  tartartic  acid,  I  examined  it,  and  found  it  to  contain  sul- 
phuric acid,  which  sufficiently  explained  the  mystery.  The  sulphuric 
acid  decomposed  the  Rochelle  salt,  producing  cream  of  tartar  and  sul- 
phate of  soda,  thus  : — 
2K  JSTa  C4  H4  06  +  H2  S04  =  2K  H  C4  B4  06  +  Na2  S04.  This 
makes  a  considerable  difference  in  the  character  of  the  mecticine. 
The  patient,  instead  of  taking  Rochelle  salt  and  neutral  tartrate  of 
soda,  is  swallowing  a  mixture  of  cream  of  tartar  and  glauber  salt, 
which,  in  some  cases,  might  not  be  desirable. 
I  did  not  estimate  the  percentage  of  impurity  present,  but,  to 
judge  from  the  quantity  of  bitartrate  produced,  it  must  have  been 
very  considerable. — Canadian  Pharmaceutical  Journal,  Dec,  1873. 
Lindsay,  Ont. 
t)arictie0. 
Distilled  Cherry -laurel '.Water  as  a  Vehicle  for  Narcotic  Injections. — M. 
Luton  states  that  distilled  cherry  laurel  water  is  the  best  vehicle  for  narcotic 
hypodermic  injections  as  morphia  and  atropia.  It  prevents  mouldiness  of  the 
solution  better  than  any  other  distilled  water,  and  it  does  not  irritate  the  tissues 
any  more  than  common  distilled  water. — Med.  News  and  Lib.,  Nov.,  1873, 
La  Tribune  Medicate,  14,  Sept,,  1873,  from  Rep.  de  Pharm. 
Determination  of  Paraffin  in  Candles  Sold  as  Stearin. — E.  Donath  having 
tried  the  method  of  Hock  (see  Amer.  Jour,  of  Pharm.,  1873,  p.  127),  finds  that 
it  is  very  difficult  to  remove  the  soap  from  the  filter  in  the  cold  by  washing 
with  water  or  dilute  alcohol,  whilst  if  the  solvent  be  applied  hot,  or  even  slightly 
warmed,  the  paraffin  forms  an  emulsion  and  runs  through  the  filter.  The  solu- 
tion of  paraffin  in  ether  is  also  a  slow  process.  Hence  Donath  proposes  the 
following  modification :  6  grms.  of  the  sample  are  boiled  for  half  an  hour  with 
200  to  300  c.  c.  of  potash  lye,  specific  gravity,  1*15,  and  chloride  of  calcium  is 
then  added  so  as  to  produce  a  complete  precipitation.  If  a  large  admixture 
of  paraffin  is  suspected,  a  quantity  of  carbonate  of  soda  is  added  to  the  chlor- 
ide of  calcium,  which  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and 
renders  the  precipitate  more  easy  to  pulverize.  The  lime-soap  with  which  the 
paraffin  is  mechanically  entangled  is  washed  on  a  filter  with  hot  water,  and 
dried  at  100°.  The  mass  is  then  pulverized  and  exhausted  in  a  displacement 
apparatus  with  cerosolin  (essence  of  petroleum).  The  solution  obtained  is 
evaporated,  and  the  residue  after  being  dried  at  100°  is  weighed  as  paraffin. 
On  operating  upon  known  mixtures  the  author  has  obtained  results  correct  to 
0*3  per  cent. — Chem.  News,  Sept.  19,  from  Moniteur  Scientif. 
