*S£tST-}  Varieties.  297 
Ancestlietic  Properties  of  Saponin. — From  the  researches  of  Dr.  Kohler, 
quoted  in  the  London  "Medical  Record,"  saponin  is  possessed  of  marked 
powers  as  a  local  anaesthetic,  so  that  it  is  possible  that  it  may  be  yet  of  service 
in  surgical  operations.  A  solution  of  saponin,  applied  externally,  produces- 
partial  paralysis  of  the  motor  and  sensory  nerve  filaments  ;  administered  hypo- 
dermically,  these  effects  are  realized  to  a  greater  extent.  Saponin  exists  in 
many  plants,  as  in  the  Silenese — Saponaria  officinalis  ;  Polygalaceae — Polygala 
senega;  and  Sapotacese — Cortex  monesire,  a  product  of  the  Chrysophyllum 
glycyphloeum. —  Canadian  Pharm.  Journ.,  May  1874. 
Crystallized  Glycerin.— In  a  paper  read  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Liverpool 
Chemists'  Association,  Mr.  A.  H.  xVlason  described  the  properties  and  charac- 
teristics of  crystallized  glycerin,  as  exhibited  by  a  specimen  obtained  from  the 
patentee.  The  glycerin  was  first  shown  at  the  Vienna  Exhibition,  and  it  was 
then  understood  that  this  crystalline  condition  could  only  be  insured  by  abso- 
lute chemical  purity.  From  actual  examination  of  a  specimen,  Mr.  Mason 
thinks  that  this  condition  is  not  necessary  to  bring  the  specimen  to  the  crystal- 
line form  in  which  it  exists.  Being  very  hygroscopic,  atmospheric  influence  of 
mean  temperature  is  quite  sufficient  to  liquefy  it,  and,  once  liquid,  exposure  to 
intense  cold  will  not  cause  it  to  congeal.  The  peculiar  mousey  odor  is  present. 
Contact  with  calcic  oxalate  produces  slight  turbidity,  and  heated  with  sulphuric 
acid  and  absolute  alcohol  there  is  discoloration.  The  method  of  production, 
being  patented,  is  a  secret ;  it  commands  a  fancy  price.  Its  usefulness  is  ques- 
tionable ;  as  a  chemical  curiosity  it  is  interesting. — Ibid. 
Chloral  and  its  Combination  with  Albuminoid  Matters.  J.  Personne. — 
Although  albumin  combines  with  chloral,  the  author  has  not  been  able  to 
determine  the  conditions  necessary  to  obtain  a  definite  compound  ;  yet  he  say& 
that  such  a  compound  is  soluble  in  excess  either  of  albumin  or  of  chloral.  On 
one  occasion  a  compound  was  obtained,  which,  when  dried  for  eight  hours,  at 
40 — 45°,  then  pulverized  and  dried  at  100°,  gave  on  analysis,  12-56  per  cent,  of 
chlorine,  equivalent  to  17*23  per  cent,  of  chloral. 
If  the  action  of  chloral  be  due  to  the  chloroform  which  it  produces  in  the 
human  system,  then  the  greater  duration  of  the  effects  of  chloral  over  those  of 
chloroform  may  be  thus  explained.  The  first  action  of  chloral  hydrate  upon 
the  albuminoid  matters  which  it  meets  with  in  the  human  system,  produces 
chloroform  by  means  of  the  alkali  of  these  albuminoid  matters.  At  the  same 
time  these  matters,  deprived  of  alkali,  form  a  combination  with  the  undestroyed 
chloral,  and  this  combination  forms  a  kind  of  reservoir  of  chloroform,  which 
only  cedes  it  gradually  in  proportion  as  the  circulation  destroys  the  combination 
formed.  This  explains  why  only  a  very  small  quantity  of  chloroform  is  met 
with  in  the  blood  of  animals  submitted  to  the  action  of  chloral.  It  also  justi- 
fies the  employment  of  chloral  in  the  dressing  of  wounds  as  a  powerful  modifier 
of  the  tissues. 
Chloral  may  be  advantageously  used  for  the  preservation  of  the  most  readily 
