Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
Sept.  1, 1874.  J 
Varieties. 
437 
Dyspepsia  and  the  Use  of  Pepsin. — The  views  of  Dr.  Schacht  concerning 
digestion  have  beeL  confirmed  by  Professor  Leube  (the  inventor  of  Leube's 
meat  solution)  of  Jena,  in  a  lecture  just  published  on  stomach  diseases.  He 
•says  :  1.  No  condition  of  the  stomach  has  yet  been  observed  in  which  pepsin 
is  altogether  absent.  2.  The  cause  of  indigestion  is  generally  the  absence  of 
sufficient  acid.  3.  The  action  of  pepsin  in  a  solution  of  albumen  resembles 
that  of  a  ferment,  and  it  will  continue  so  to  act  without  end,  merely  by  the 
addition  of  more  acid.  4.  Alcoholic  solutions,  especially  wine,  on  account  of 
the  tannin  it  contains,  should  be  avoided  as  vehicles  for  pepsin.  Finally,  he 
recommends,  in  case  of  indigestion,  a  solution  of  chopped  meat  with  water, 
adding  a  small  proportion  of  pure  muriatic  acid,  and  some  thickening.  He 
finds  such  a  solution  very  nourishing,  and  reports  excellent  results.  These 
views  and  experiments  are  not  novel,  but  exhibit  the  old  doctrine  as  to  digestion, 
and  it  appears  to  be  the  sound  one.  The  secretion  of  the  paucreas  is  now 
thought  necessary  to  the  digestion  of  fatty  substances  ;  and  where  these  are 
used  to  any  extent — as  in  cod-liver  oil — it  would  be  best  to  take  the  new  medi- 
cine pancreatin,  which  acts  best  with  an  alkali  instead  of  an  acid,  or  to  use 
a  little  of  the  solution  of  the  pancreas  of  freshly  killed  animals. — Scientific 
American,  August  8,  1874. 
Purification  of  Oxalic  Acid. — When  it  is  required  to  prepare  large  quantities 
•of  pure  oxalic  acid,  Stolba  recommends  crystallization  from  hydrochloric  acid. 
The  oxalic  acid  to  be  purified  is  dissolved  in  a  sufficient  quantity  of  ten  or 
fifteen  per  cent,  boiling  hydrochloric  acid,  the  filtrate  allowed  to  cool,  the 
mother  liquor  drawn  off,  and  the  crystals  washed  with  small  quantities  of  water 
until  the  washings  contain  but  very  little  hydrochloric  acid.  It  is  then  only 
necessary  to  dissolve  the  moist  crystals  in  pure  water,  and  recrystallize  the 
•acid  to  obtain  a  perfectly  pure  product.  It  is  essential  in  both  cases  to  cool 
the  hot  solution  rapidly,  with  constant  stirring,  to  obtain  small  crystals,  for  on 
cooling  slowly  large  crystals  are  formed,  which  may  inclose  some  of  the  mother 
liquor.  Large  quantities  of  oxalic  acid  purified  in  this  way  will  volatize  com- 
pletely if  heated  in  a  platinum  crucible,  without  leaving  the  slightest  residue. 
The  mother  liquor  can  be  employed  for  making  oxalate  of  ammonia,  for  on 
neutralizing  with  carbonate  of  ammonia  most  of  the  oxalate  is  precipitated,  it 
being  much  less  soluble  in  a  solution  of  chloride  of  ammonia  than  in  pure 
water. — Journal  of  Applied  Chemistry,  August,  1874. 
Hay  Fever. — Dr.  T.  C.  Hoover,  of  Bellaire,  Ohio,  in  the  American  Journal 
&fthe  Medical  Sciences,  relates  his  successful  treatment  of  this  curious  disease, 
