Am' oct.?i893.arm' }  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  495 
The  detection  of  iodic  acid  in  nitric  acid  may  be  speedily  accom- 
plished by  the  following  tests  :  (1)  10  cc.  of  30  per  cent,  nitric  acid 
and  a  few  pieces  of  tin  are  slightly  warmed,  allowed  to  stand  for  one 
minute  and  agitated  with  chloroform.  (2)  5  cc.  nitric  acid  and  O'l 
gm.  sodium  or  calcium  hypophosphite  are  allowed  to  stand  for 
several  minutes  before  agitating  with  chloroform.  Iodic  acid  is 
indicated  in  both  tests  by  the  violet^  coloration  of  the  chloroform 
due  to  liberated  iodine. — Pieszczek  and  Looff,  Apoth.  Ztg ,  1893,  322 
and  335. 
A  sample  of  linseed  oil  which  caused  symptoms  of  poisoning  was 
found  to  have  been  obtained  from  seed  containing  about  35  per 
cent,  impurities,  the  chief  one  present  to  the  extent  of  1 5  per  cent, 
was  the  seed  of  Lolium  temutentum  or  more  exactly  L.  remotum. — 
Pieszczek,  Apotheker  Ztg.,  1893,  335. 
Vasogen  or  vaselinum  oxygenatum,  a  name  given  to  mineral  oils 
which  are  impregnated  in  a  secret  manner  with  oxygen ;  they  are 
capable  of  emulsifying  with  water,  and  will  dissolve  many  remedial 
agents  like  iodoform,  creasote,  ichthyol,  menthol,  pyrogallol, 
camphor,  pyoktanin,  etc.,  causing  their  ready  absorption  ;  by  heat 
the  oils  lose  the  emulsifying  properties.  The  solution  of  creasote 
in  vasogen  taken  in  milk  is  stated  to  be  preferred  by  the  patients  to 
any  other  mode  of  creasote  administration. — Dr.  M.  Dahmen, 
Pharm.  Ztg.,  1893,  510. 
Benzoin. — The  investigations  published  in  the  Am.  Journ.  of 
Pharm.,  1893,  224  and  459,  are  supplemented  by  the  following 
additional  results  :  The  purified  esters  separated  from  Sumatra  ben- 
zoin were  found  by  saponification  to  contain  32-9  per  cent,  cinnamic 
acid  ;  the  mixture  of  alcohols  combined  with  the  salicylic  acid  was 
made  up  of  5-2  percent,  benzoresinol  and  64-5  percent,  resinotannol. 
From  these  figures  the  proportions  of  esters  would  be  benzoresinol 
cinnamate  7-4  per  cent,  resinotannolcinnamate  92-6  per  cent. 
Attention  is  called  to  Sumatra  benzoin  as  a  source  of  cinnamic  acid, 
allowing  1 5  per  cent,  woody  impurities  and  several  per  cent,  for  ben- 
zoic acid  at  least  75  per  cent,  of  the  benzoin  consist  of  cinnamates 
yielding  20-24  per  cent,  cinnamic  acid  ;  the  remaining  resinotannol, 
50-60  per  cent,  can  be  easily  converted  into  picric  acid  by  warm 
concentrated  nitric  acid  ;  the  vanillin  present  to  the  extent  of  o- 1 
per  cent,  can  also  be  profitably  extracted.    The  method  suggested 
