.384  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  {  Am 'lagT;^Tm' 
solution  an  intense  green  color. — E.  Hirschsohn,  Pharm.  Ztschr.  f. 
RussL,  1893,  353. 
Dulcin,  identical  with  sucrol  (Am.  Journ.  Pharm. ,  i<>93>  288)  has 
the  melting  point  173-1740  (not  1600  C);  the  solubility  in  water  at 
1 50  is  1  in  800,  at  ioo°  C.  it  is  1  in  50  ;  in  alcohol  of  90  per  cent.  1 
in  25.  Tests  for  purity  are :  (1)  colorless  crystals ;  (2)  melting 
point ;  and  (3)  colorless  solution  in  cold,  concentrated  sulphuric  acid. 
— Dr.  H.  Thorns,  Pharm.  Centralhalle,  1893,  281. 
The  leaves  of  v actinium  myrtillus  have  attained  some  notoriety  as 
a  remedy  for  diabetes,  it  having  been  found  by  polariscopic  exami- 
nation that  the  administration  of  pills  containing  an  extract  of  the 
leaves  caused  a  decrease  in  the  amount  of  sugar  in  the  urine,  as 
shown  by  polariscopic  examination.  Dr.  von  Qefele  explains  this 
observation,  as  follows  :  The  leaves  contain  arbutin,  which  has  for 
a  long  time  been  known  to  cause  the  urine  to  become  laevogyre, 
and,  therefore,  the  dextrogyre  rotation  of  diabetic  urine  is  decreased 
or  even  replaced  by  a  laevogyre  rotation.  The  fermentation  test  for 
sugar  is  also  deceptive  since  the  leaf  constituents  are  known  to 
restrict  or  even  prevent  fermentation  of  sugar  and  it  is  merely  a 
question  as  to  the  quantity  of  the  extract  taken  to  entirely  prevent 
activity  in  the  yeast.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  advocates  of 
this  remedy  disregarded  entirely  the  results  obtainable  with  Feh- 
ling's  solution,  claiming  that  the  strongly  reducing  effect  of  the 
urine  was  due  to  some  constituents  in  the  extract,  and  that  the  two 
tests,  the  actions  of  which  were  explained  above,  were  only  to  be 
relied  on ;  Dr.  v.  Oefele,  however,  states  that  Fehling's  test  reveals 
the  true  condition  of  the  patient. —  Pharm.  Centralhalle,  1893,  306. 
Hydrochloric  acid  containing  selenious  chloride  as  an  impurity  is 
not  unfrequently  met  with  ;  it  has  an  especially  destructive  action 
upon  copper  vessels,  acting  in  all  probability  as  a  carrier  of  chlorine, 
thus  enabling  the  acid  to  dissolve  considerable  quantities  of  metallic 
copper  even  in  the  absence  of  any  considerable  amount  of  air  or 
oxygen. — J.  E.  Gerock,  Journ.  d.  Pharm.  v.  Els.  Lothr.,  1893,  l77- 
An  estimation  of  some  metals  and  alkaloids  is  proposed  by  Professor 
Vitali,  which  in  case  of  a  metallic  salt,  consists  in  dissolving  it  in 
distilled  water  absolutely  free  from  air,  precipitating  the  metal  with 
hydrogen  sulphide  and  titrating  the  liberated  acid  with  ^  sodium 
hydrate  after  filtering  out  the  metallic  sulphide  ;  from  the  quantity 
