558  Gleanings  from  the  European  Journals.  { AMDecUi;  mfM" 
from  these  wise  and  conservative  principles  when  they  accepted  and 
adopted  their  new  process  for  percolation,  which  at  the  time  of  its 
adoption  was  simply  a  fledgeling  in  pharmaceutical  practice. 
Philadelphia,  November,  1874. 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  EUROPEAN  JOURNALS. 
By  the  Editor. 
Oinnamic  Acid  in  Tea. — Dr.  H.  Weppen,  while  operating  upon 
ten  kilograms  of  tea-leaves  with  the  view  of  preparing  coffeina,  was 
unable  to  get  this  alkaloid  by  the  ordinary  process,  but  obtained  over 
five  grams,  about  0*1  per  cent.,  of  cinnamic  acid.  The  leaves  had 
the  odor  of  ordinary  tea,  and  were  smaller  than  those  of  Hyson  and 
Pecco  tea,  but  otherwise  agreed  entirely  with  Thea  chinensis.  The 
author  suspects  a  fraud,  practised  in  China,  and  that  this  tea  had 
been  flavored  with  storax  or  a  similar  substance. — Arehiv  d.  Phar., 
1874,  July,  pp.  9-14. 
Leras1  Soluble  Phosphate  of  Iron,  a  nostrum  manufactured  in  Paris, 
was  analyzed  by  Dr.  H.  Vohl,  of  Cologne,  and  found  to  be  a  solution 
of  five  grams  ferric  sulphate  and  ten  grams  crystallized  pyrophosphate 
of  sodium  in  one  liter  of  distilled  water. — Ibid.,  pp.  14-16. 
Preparation  of  Iodates  and  Iodic  Acid. — Prof.  E.  Reichardt  rec- 
ommends to  treat  iodine  or  iodide  with  chlorinated  lime,  when  iodate 
of  calcium  is  rapidly  formed  and  partly  precipitated  ;  after  the  oxida- 
tion is  completed,  the  whole  is  faintly  acidulated,  heated  to  boiling, 
and  iodate  of  calcium,  CaI206,5H20,  readily  obtained  pure  by  crys- 
tallization. On  exposure,  the  calcium  iodate  loses  water ;  to  prepare 
iodic  acid,  it  is  therefore  necessary  to  determine  the  exact  amount  of 
calcium  in  each  sample  of  the  iodate,  and  to  decompose  it  by  its 
equivalent  of  sulphuric  acid,  removing  the  calcium  sulphate  and  crys- 
tallizing the  iodic  acid. — Ibid.,  Aug.,  pp.  109-111. 
Test  for  Veratria  and  Morphia. — While  experimenting  with  Schnei- 
der's* test  for  morphia,  Dr.  H.  Weppen  observed  that  if  veratria  is 
mixed  with  twice  to  four  times  its  weight  of  sugar,  a  little  sulphuric 
acid  will  at  first  produce  merely  a  light-yellow  coloration,  which,  after 
a  while,  changes  into  green,  and  finally  to  a  beautiful  blue ;  the  green 
and  blue  colors  are  more  rapidly  produced  if,  to  the  acid  mixture,  a 
*  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1873.  p.  545. 
