AmjJu°nUe?i899arm-}    Re  cent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  281 
parent  liquid  until  warmed  to  42°*  When  cooled  to  20°,  it  deposits 
crystals  more  regular  in  shape  than  the  stearopten  of  oil  of  rose. 
The  difference  between  the  adulterant  and  oil  of  rose  is  as 
follows : 
The  adulterant  has  higher  specific  gravity  (0-950  at  150  ;  rose, 
0-870) ;  higher  optical  rotary  power  ( —  400  at  1 5  0  C;  rose,  —  2°) ; 
higher  melting-point  (420  C;  rose,  — 25 0  C.) ;  smaller  saponifi- 
cation number  (2-1  ;  rose,  10  to  20 ) ;  and  leaves  on  evaporation  a 
resinous  mass  (16  2  per  cent.;  rose,  none). 
In  a  second  article,  the  writer  admits  the  adulterant  identical 
with  that  reported  by  Schimmel  &  Co.,  namely,  guaiac-wood  oil. 
H.  V.  A. 
STROPHANTHIN  IN  OLEANDER. 
The  oleander  of  Algeria  exudes,  from  incisions  in  the  old 
branches,  a  milk  juice  that  is  poisonous.  From  this  dried  juice, 
powdered  and  mixed  with  its  own  weight  of  chalk,  Dubigadoux 
and  Durieu  (J.  de  Pharm.  et  de  Chim.,  1898,  433)  extracted  with 
95  per  cent,  alcohol  a  white  substance,  which  chemical  and  physio- 
logical tests  proved  identical  with  strophanthin.  H.  V.  A. 
CAUSE  OF  BLACKENING  OF  BEAN  PODS. 
In  the  west  of  France,  the  inhabitants  prepare  a  bean  soup,  in 
which  they  include  the  green  pods,  and  the  product  is  blackish, 
rather  than  green.  Noticing  that  the  pod  of  the  fully  developed 
fruit  is  also  black,  Bourquelot  and  Herissey  (Journ.  de  Pharm.  et 
de  Chim.,  1898,  385)  investigated  the  cause. 
The  first  step  was  the  maceration — pod,  seed-integument  and 
embryo — in  separate  portions  of  95  per  cent,  alcohol,  and  each 
expressed  liquid  was  treated  with  the  highly  oxidizing  aqueous 
extract  of  the  mushroom,  Russula  delica.  The  only  liquid  affected 
was  the  extract  of  the  pods,  which  quickly  changed  to  red  and 
then  to  black.  The  expressed  residues  from  the  alcoholic  extrac- 
tion were  treated  with  boiling  water,  the  expressed  infusions  satu- 
rated with  chloroform  and  each  divided  into  two  parts;  one  of 
which  was  allowed  to  stand  with  access  of  air  just  as  it  was, 
while  to  the  other  was  added  some  of  the  Russula  extract. 
As  with  the  alcoholic  extracts,  the  only  ones  affected  were  the 
two  from  the  pods ;  that  containing  Russula  being  of  a  deep  black, 
while  the  other  was  scarcely  lighter. 
This  led  the  investigators  to  believe  the  pods  of  the  bean  con- 
