330 
Gleanings. 
(  AM.  JOUR.  PHA.RM, 
1     July  1, 1874. 
sponsibilitj  as  no  other  pursuit  requiring  a  similar  amount  of  learn- 
ing, and  which,  for  superior  attainments  and  proficiency,  does  not  offer 
an  adequate  equivalent  in  the  shape  of  pecuniary  compensation. 
These  are  some  of  the  problems  which  American  pharmacy  will 
likewise  have  to  encounter  sooner  or  later,  and  in  the  discussions  of 
which  the  recourse  to  the  whole  truth  will  unquestionably  prove  the 
best  remedy  for  the  evils  of  imperfectly  stated  truth.  They  certainly 
deserve  earnest  consideration  and  invite  our  congenial  interest  in  the 
pending  strives  of  pharmacy  in  Germany  for  its  existence  and  con- 
tinuance. Whatever  may  be  the  future  fate  of  pharmacy,  that  of  Conti- 
nental Europe  has  the  high  merit  of  having  fulfilled  its  mission  of 
culture,  and  particularly  in  developing  and  applying  the  natural 
sciences,  and  mainly  chemistry,  and  that  its  achievements  are  not 
perishable,  but  on  the  contrary  will  forever  be  useful  in  the  further 
evolution  of  the  healing  art  and  of  applied  chemistry  in  general. 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  EUROPEAN  JOURNALS. 
By  the  Editor. 
Detection  of  Turpentine  in  Liquid  Storax.  Hager  recommends  to 
fuse  the  storax  in  a  test-tube  placed  in  a  water-bath,  to  add  half  its 
volume  of  absolute  alcohol,  and  effect  solution  by  agitation;  this  is 
then  agitated  with  several  times  its  volume  of  petroleum  benzin,  and 
the  operation  repeated  twice.  The  decanted  benzin  solutions  are 
united  and  evaporated  in  a  water-bath,  from  a  tared  vessel.  The 
residue  should  weigh  45  to  55  per  cent,  of  the  storax ;  it  should  be 
colorless,  with  a  bluish  opalescence,  and  of  an  agreeable  odor.  If 
turpentine  be  present,  the  residue  will  be  yellowish,  of  the  odor  of 
the  turpentine,  and  larger  in  weight. — Pharm.  Centr.  Halle,  1874, 
No.  21. 
The  Volatile  Oil  of  the  Root  of  Spircea  ulmaria  is  not  salicylous 
acid,  as  stated  by  Wicke  a  number  of  years  ago ;  Dr.  R.  Nietzki 
found  it  to  be  a  compound  ether  of  salicylic  acid,  which  is  heavier 
than  water,  has  the  odor  of  gaultheria  oil,  and  is  probably  identical 
with  it.    20  lbs.  of  the  fresh  root  yielded,  on  distillation  with  coho- 
tition  increases  and  it  is  evident  that,  unless  we  can  arrest  or  overcome  these, 
we  cannot  long  retain  in  our  .ranks  a  superior  or  desirable  personnel.  The 
character  of  any  pursuit  depends  upon  the  men  who  fill  it,  and  we  cannot  have 
men  of  culture  and  attainments  unless  they  are  adequately  rewarded.  (D.  0. 
Robbins,  annual  address,  N.  Y.  Alumni  Assoc.,  1872-73.) 
