936 
Current  Literature. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     December.  1920. 
A  violet-colored  residue  is  produced  when  0.2  Gm.  of  either  sub- 
stance is  ignited  in  a  porcelain  basin;  the  residue  dissolves  in  a  drop 
of  water  giving  a  violet-colored  solution,  the  color  changing  rapidly 
to  brown.  The  addition  of  a  drop  of  hydrochloric  acid  produces 
a  yellow  color,  the  separation  of  a  brown  precipitate  and  liberation 
of  sulphur  dioxide.  Santonin  yields  to  a  red  coloration  when  heated 
with  sodium  salicylate.    (From  The  Analyst,  Sept.,  1920.) 
Paraguay  Tka. — C.  R.  Hennings  {Ber.  Deut.  Pharm.  Ges.,  1920, 
30,  22-26;  through  Chem.  Zeit.  Rep.,  1920,  44,  179.) — Analysis  of 
Paraguay  tea  (mate)  yielded  the  following  results:  Water,  9.00; 
water  extract,  33.10;  ash  in  water  extract,  3.8;  alkaloids,  2.1; 
tannin,  9.79;  total  ash,  6.62;  soluble  ash,  2.26;  silica,  etc.,  1.44; 
alkalinity  of  ash  (as  K2O),  0.69;  crude  fiber,  15.45;  ether  extract, 
9.8;  volatile  extract,  2  . 05 ;  total  nitrogen,  2.17;  resins,  9 .  i  per  cent. 
(From  The  Analyst,  September,  1920.) 
SiucA  IN  Leguminous  Sked-Coats. — The  author  has  found 
silica  nodules  in  the  palisade  epodermis  of  the  seeds  of  certain  species 
of  Alhizzia,  and  also  in  that  of  Afzelia  cuanzensis  and  A.  afrtcana, 
but  not  of  Vicia  Faba,  or  Tamarindus  indica.  The  nodules  measure 
up  to  three  or  four  /x  in  diameter,  and  occur  just  below  the  light- 
line.  They  are  well  shown  in  preparations  treated  with  Schultze's 
maceration  mixture  and  also  by  the  phenol  method,  and  may  be 
found  in  the  ash  left  by  treating  fragments  of  the  seed-coats  with 
concentrated  sulphuric  acid  and  incinerating.  (Archiv  d.  Pharm., 
258,  138;  through  The  Pharm.  Jour,  and  Pharmacist,  September  18, 
1920.) 
Substitutes  for  Platinum  Wire. — Borax  beads  may  be  made 
by  heating  the  plumbago  "lead"  from  a  black  lead  pencil  to  redness, 
dipping  it  into  powdered  borax  and  then  fusing  the  borax  in  the 
flame,  so  that  the  drop  of  melted  borax  is  suspended  at  the  end  of 
the  stick  of  graphite.  The  method  of  using  a  roll  of  pure  filter  paper 
instead  of  platinum  wire,  for  flame  tests,  originally  suggested  by 
Kringhaus,  is  modified  thus  so  as  to  give  a  longer  lasting  flame. 
The  rolled  slip  is  introduced  into  a  small  glass  tube  with  a  drawn 
out  opening,  and  containing  the  liquid  to  be  tested,  or  a  solid  sub- 
stance moistened  with  hydrochloric  acid.  The  end  of  the  paper 
roll  is  allowed  to  project  about  3  Cm.  beyond  the  tube,  to  serve  as 
a  wick.  This  is  then  introduced  into  the  flame,  and  the  solution 
is  fed  to  the  wick  by  capillarity,  just  as  in  the  case  of  an  oil  lamp  or 
