Am'May^"i893arm'}  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  223 
weight  determination  indicate  the  formula  C27H40O8,  agreeing  with 
that  obtained  for  tanghinin  from  Tanghinia  venifera,  Poir.  Of  tests 
for  cerberin  may  be  mentioned  :  (1)  Yellow  color  upon  heating  with 
dilute  mineral  acids.  (2)  With  concentrated  sulphuric  acid  a  tran- 
sient orange  red,  after  1 5-30  minutes  a  violet  color  appears  first 
around  the  edge  of  the  liquid  spreading  throughout  the  liquid, 
finally  passing  into  blue.  (3)  Concentrated  sulphuric  acid  with 
phenols  (thymol,  #-naphthol,  cresols  or  glycocholic  acid),  produces  a 
red  or  violet  coloration,  while  the  acid  with  aldehydes  (furfurol, 
saccharose,  vanillin,  heliotropin,  etc.)  produces  blue  colorations.  By 
heating  with  a  dilute  alcoholic  sulphuric  acid,  cerberin  yields  about 
63  per  cent,  cerberetin,  a  reducing  sugar  (in  very  small  amount),  and 
very  likely  a  third  compound,  since  considerable  loss  was  noticed  and 
after  separating  the  cerberetin  poisonous  physiological  effects  were 
still  obtained.  Cerberetin,  a  citron  yellow  amorphous  powder,  is  solu- 
ble in  alcohol,  ether,  benzol  and  chloroform,  giving  intensely  yellow 
colored  solutions,  insoluble  in  water  and  petroleum-ether,  it  melts 
at  85-5°;  with  concentrated  sulphuric  acid  at  first  a  red  color  is 
produced  changing  to  brown  or  violet,  the  acid  with  traces  of  alde- 
hydes gives  the  same  color  as  with  cerberin  ;  it  has  the  formula 
C19H2604 ;  and  was  found  to  be  poisonous.  A  comparison  of  cer- 
berin, tanghinin  and  thevetin  (from  Cerbera  Thevetia,  L.),  indicate 
that  they  are  not  identical. 
Cerberin.  Tanghinin.  Thevetin. 
Melting  point,    ....          1920           ■  1820  1700 
Solubility  in  water,   .  .         1  : 5555  1  : 20000  1  : 222 
Formula,   C2VH40O8  C27H40O8  C54H84024.H20 
{yellow  cerberetin  yellow  resin  white  theveresin 
C19H2604and         but  no  C48H70O17 
little  sugar              sugar  and  sugar 
— Prof.  P.  C.  Plugge,  Arch,  der  Pharm.,  1893,  10-34. 
Sumatra  Benzoin. — Professor  Tschirch,  during  a  visit  to  a  benzoin 
tree  plantation  in  Java,  made  the  interesting  observation  that  the 
trees  contained  neither  secretion  nor  secretion- cells  ;  in  fact,  that  all 
parts  of  the  tree  were  perfectly  odorless  and  that  only  after  wound- 
ing the  tree  did  the  balsam  commence  to  exude.  It  follows,  there- 
fore, that  the  tree  must  contain  some  constituent,  which,  under  the 
conditions  alluded  to,  gives  rise  to  benzoin  balsam.  An  examina- 
tion, having  for  its  object  the  isolation  of  this  constituent,  was  made 
possible,  as  Professor  Tschirch  brought  with  him  some  bark  from 
