196 
Kephir. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
{      April,  1884. 
Caucasus,"  which  he  had  collected  during  his  travels.  The  requisite 
investigations  had  been  made  by  Ed.  Kern  under  the  supervision  and 
in  the  laboratory  of  Prof.  Goroshaukin.  The  result  is  that,  within 
the  last  two  years,  kephir  was  not  only  introduced  as  a  medicine  from 
the  southern  to  the  northern  section  of  Russia ;  but  that  also  a  number 
of  papers  and  pamphlets  on  this  subject  has  been  published.  Daring  the 
latter  part  of  the  past  year  kephir  has  also  been  noticed  in  other  coun- 
tries, among  others  by  Prof.  Dr.  F.  Cahn,  at  the  meeting  held  Decem- 
ber 13,  by  the  section  for  Natural  Sciences  of  the  Silesian  Society  at 
Breslau.  Kephir  has  already  become  an  article  of  speculation,  is  pro- 
curable in  commerce,  and  will  doubtless  be  further  scientifically  inves- 
tigated. The  narrow  circle  in  which  for  centuries  kephir  has  been 
harbored  with  almost  religious  piety,  has  been  broken,  and  it  has 
become  public  property  notwithstanding  the  method  of  its  preparation 
is  still  surrounded  with  a  certain  mystery,  depending  upon  the  so-called 
kephir-grains,  the  new  milk  ferment  of  Kern.  This  can  only  be  pro- 
cured from  the  mountain  tribes ;  but  after  it  has  been  obtained,  kephir 
may  be  prepared  with  the  requisite  precautions,  at  all  times,  in  winter 
or  in  summer. 
This  present  mystery  concerning  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  kephir- 
ferment  invites  further  investigations,  and  it  will  doubtless  not  be  a 
long  time  before  the  preparation  of  kephir  in  all  its  details  will  have 
been  ranged  with  the  known  phenomena  of  fermentation  in  general. 
Then,  most  likely,  this  simple  beverage  and  remedy  of  the  mountain 
tribes  of  the  high  Caucasus  will  be  accorded  an  important  position 
among  the  domestic  and  general  remedies,  more  particularly  as  towards 
koumis.  But  years  of  observation  will  be  required  to  determine  its 
true  value;  at  present  kephir  is  beginning  to  become  a  fashion  remedy. 
The  author  has  undertaken  the  chemical  investigation  of  kephir  with 
the  view  of  applying  to  it  the  results  of  his  protracted  investigations 
of  milk,  and  of  determining  the  changes  produced  by  this  ferment ; 
although  more  difficult  and  complicated  than  expected,  he  hopes  in 
the  near  future  to  be  able  to  report  his  results. 
Tiflis,  January  30,  1884. 
Antibacterid,  an  antiseptic  patented  in  Germany,  is  prepared  from 
338  parts  of  borax,  124  parts  of  boric  acid  and  198  parts  of  glucose, 
dissolved  in  a  little  water ;  the  solution  is  evaporated  until  a  solid  mass 
is  left. 
