Am  Jour.  Pharm.) 
January,  1899.  / 
Notes  and  News. 
i 
NOTES  AND  NEWS. 
Priority  in  Certain  Investigations  of  Podophyllum. — F.  B.  Power, 
in  the  issue  of  the  Chemical  News  for  July  15,  1898,  calls  attention  to  some 
erroneous  statements  made  by  Messrs.  Dunstan  and  Henry  in  a  paper  entitled, 
"A  Chemical  Investigation  of  the  Constituents  of  Indian  and  American  Podo- 
phyllum," and  which  was  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Chemical  Society, 
April,  1898,  pp.  209-226.  The  writer  shows  that,  instead  of  Podwyssotski  being 
the  first  to  prove  the  absence  of  berberine  in  podophyllum,  as  would  be  in- 
ferred from  the  paper  referred  to,  that  he  (Professor  Power)  was  the  first  to 
prove  the  absence  of  berberine  or  any  alkaloid  in  podophyllum,  by  citing  a 
number  of  authorities.  The  writer  also  claims  priority  in  reference  to  the  ob- 
servations on  the  action  of  fused  potash  on  podophyllin  and  the  statement  that 
volatile  acids  were  formed. 
Infltenza. — M.  Rappin  (Le  Progres  Medicale,  August  20th)  reports  on  the 
various  epidemics  of  "la  grippe  "  that  he  has  studied  for  many  years  past  in 
Nantes  and  in  the  neighboring  districts.  In  the  many  different  cases  that  he 
examined  from  a  bacteriological  point  of  view,  he  succeeded  in  isolating  one 
form  of  bacillus,  which  seems  to  him  to  be  the  pathogenic  agent  of  the  disease. 
—  The  Sanitarian,  October,  1898. 
The  Value  of  Fruits. — According  to  Modern  Medicine  fruits  are  of  great 
value  in  many  forms  of  disease,  on  account  of  the  acids  which  they  contain. 
These  acids,  when  taken  into  the  blood,  break  up  some  of  the  compounds  of 
waste  substances  which  have  been  formed,  and  thus  give  rise  to  an  increased 
excretion  of  these  substances  through  the  kidneys.  In  this  way  fruits  are  a 
great  advantage  in  the  treatment  of  rheumatism,  gout,  gravel  and  all  the  differ- 
ent morbid  conditions  which  accompany  the  so-called  uric  acid  diathesis,  in- 
cluding neurasthenia.  Obesity  may  also  be  successfully  treated  by  a  fruit 
dietary.  In  fevers,  fruits  furnish  a  most  appropriate  food,  particularly  in  the 
form  of  fruit  juices.—  Scientific  American,  Vol.  I/XXVIII,  No.  23. 
Lubricants  for  Glass  Stopcocks. — F.  C.  Phillips  {fotir.  Am.  Chem.  Soc.) 
gives  the  following  formula: 
Pure  rubber  70  parts. 
Spermaceti  25  " 
Vaseline   -    5  " 
On  mixing  these  together,  a  mass  is  obtained  which  lubricates  well,  is  trans- 
lucent, adheres  to  the  glass  and  is  not  saponifiable.  The  materials  should  be 
thoroughly  mixed  while  hot,  the  rubber  being  melted  first  and  the  others 
stirred  in.    A  little  more  vaseline  is  required  in  winter  than  in  summer. 
A  still  better  preparation  has  the  following  formula: 
Pure  rubber  70  parts. 
Yellow  unbleached  beeswax  30  " 
The  rubber  is  best  heated  in  a  covered  vessel  until  thoroughly  melted,  then 
adding  the  wax.  The  hot  mixture  should  be  well  stirred. — Am.  Gas-Light 
Jour.,  October  3,  1898,  p.  494. 
Crystals  in  Paper. — It  has  been  discovered  that  old  paper,  such  as  is  found 
in  old  books,  sometimes  contains  beautiful  dendritic  crystals.    It  is  supposed 
