Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
July, 1885.  j 
Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica. 
355 
paper  and  paper  leather,  and  for  painting  and  caulking  jnnks. — Ibid., 
p.  637. 
Baillon  names  the  tree  Aleurites  cordata,  and  mentions  as  synonyms 
Dryandra  cordata,  Thunherg,  Dr.  Vernicia,  Correa,  and  Elaeococca 
Vernicia,  Sprengel. 
White  birch  tar,  Oleum  Eusci. — P.  Macewan  has  examined  three 
commercial  samples  of  this  tar,  the  odor  of  betulin  being  present  in 
each,  but  harsher  in  the  German  and  Dutch  oils  than  in  the  Russian, 
which  is  pleasant.  The  saponifiable  substances  were  ascertained  by 
shaking  the  ether  solution  with  excess  of  potash  solution,  acidifying 
the  alkaline  liquid  and  treating  with  ether. 
Physical  properties- 
Thick  brown-black,  Limpid,  brown,  sp. 
sp.  gr.  -955.  gr.  '967 
Cold  water  filtrate         Colorless,  fragrant. 
Blue  litmus  
FejCle  (solution)  
FeoClc  on  dilution  
KCy  (solution)  
Non-saponifiable  bod- 
ies.  
Saponifiable  bodies.. 
Faintly  acid. 
Green  brown. 
Muddy. 
Yellowish  brown 
enipyreumatic. 
Distinctly  acid. 
Greenish  brown. 
Loses  transparency. 
No  change. 
.  1657;  black,  consis- 
tence of  lard,  slight- 
ly empyreumatic. 
.  18-90  per  cent. 
19-84,  black,  sticky, 
resinous,  strongly 
empyreumatic. 
Limpid,  translucent, 
red  brown,  sp.  gr., 
•941. 
Faintly  acid. 
Pale  brown, 
i  Clear. 
No  change. 
86-54 ;  pale  brovvn, 
limpid,  odor,  tere- 
binth inate. 
10-62;  brown,  semi- 
fluid, resinous,  in- 
tensely empj-reu- 
matic. 
64-04  per  cent. 
52-84  per  cent. 
—Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  March  21,  1885,  p.  769. 
Examination  of  Fats. — For  this  purpose  Hiibl  regards  only  those 
methods  as  useful  which  are  based  on  quantitative  determinations, 
whether  of  chemical  or  physical  nature.  Such  methods,  which  the 
author  calls  quantitative  reactions "  afford  valuable  indications  of 
the  purity  of  fats  as  they  are  connected  with  their  chemical  con- 
stitution, qualitative  tests  are  of  value  in  doubtful  cases  and  serve 
to  control  the  conclusions  drawn  from  the  former.  Of  the  three 
groups  of  acids  present  in  fats,  those  belonging  to  the  acetic  acid  series 
remain  unaltered  under  ordinary  conditions  by  haloids,  while  the  acids 
of  the  oleic  acid  group  take  up  two  haloid  atoms  very  readily,  and 
those  of  the  linoleic  acid  group  four  atoms.    The  author  recommends 
