554  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  {Am,NJv'if£frm' 
soluble  in  solution  of  soda  and  in  boiling  alcohol.  Despite  the 
insolubility  it  is  readily  absorbed,  being  decomposed  in  the  stomach 
into  phenetidine  and  salicyl  aldehyde  ;  the  latter  is  oxidized  and 
voided  as  salicylic  acid  and  can  be  detected  in  the  urine  twenty 
minutes  after  the  introduction  of  the  remedy. — Dr.  A.  Jaquet  [Korr- 
Bl.f.  Schwz.  Aerzte),  Pharm.  Ztg.,  1893,  615. 
Caffearine. — A  new  alkaloid  was  isolated  from  coffee  by  Dr.  P, 
Palladine  by  repeatedly  boiling  the  raw  coffee  (in  as  fine  a  condition 
as  possible)  with  ten  times  its  weight  of  water,  to  which  a  little  milk 
of  lime  was  added  ;  the  decoctions  are  precipitated  with  solution  of 
lead  subacetate  in  slight  excess,  filtered,  the  excess  of  lead 
removed  by  adding  sulphuric  acid  and  the  solution  concentrated  ; 
should  the  solution  show  considerable  color  the  precipitation  with 
lead  subacetate  is  to  be  repeated;  the  caffeine  is  removed  by 
extracting  with  (0-12  portions  of  chloroform  or  until  nothing  more 
is  removable.  The  solution  is  acidified  with  sulphuric  acid  and 
evaporated  several  times  to  volatilize  the  acetic  acid,  after  which 
the  aqueous  solution  is  decolorized  by  animal  charcoal ;  the  caffearine 
is  next  precipitated  by  potassio- bismuth  iodide,  the  precipitate 
carefully  washed,  suspended  in  water,  and  decomposed  with 
hydrogen  sulphide,  the  hydriodic  acid  neutralized  with  lead  car- 
bonate filtered  and  the  precipitation  with  potassio-bismuth  iodide, 
etc.,  repeated  until  the  precipitate  shows  a  beautiful  crystalline 
appearance  ;  after  decomposing  with  hydrogen  sulphide  the  solution 
of  the  hydroiodate  is  warmed  in  a  water-bath  with  silver  oxide, 
carefully  neutralized  with  hydrochloric  acid  and  the  hydrochlorate 
allowed  to  crystallize.  The  alkaloid  itself,  CuH16N204  can  be 
obtained  from  the  hydrochlorate  by  the  use  of  silver  oxide  and  is 
obtainable  in  crystalline  needles  which  are  acted  upon  by  light,  and 
are  quite  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol.  The  hydrochlorate  CMH16 
N204  HC1  -j-  H20  forms  needles  extremely  soluble  in  water,  also 
soluble  in  dilute  alcohol,  but  insoluble  in  absolute  alcohol.  Caffearine 
differs  from  caffeine  by  being  precipitable  by  alkaloidal  reagents. 
— Apotkeker  Ztg.,  1893,  443. 
The  detection  of  saccharin  in  presence  of  salicylic  acid. — The  methods 
for  isolating  these  two  substances  consist  in  extracting  the  acidulated 
solution  with  ether  and  evaporating  ;  this  residue  will  contain  both 
saccharin  and  salicylic  acid  if  they  are  present  in  the  material  to  be 
investigated,  and  to  positively  identify  the  former  has  been  a  matter  of 
