Am.  Jour.  Pharm.\ 
January,  1899.  » 
Notes  and  News. 
iii 
Calcium  Chloride  in  Hemorrhage. — Hare  {Columbus  Med.  Jour., 
August  29,  1898)  calls  attention  to  the  value  of  calcium  chloride  in  the  treat- 
ment of  small  oozing  hemorrhages.  Dr.  Wright  pointed  out  some  years  ago 
that  the  use  of  calcium  chloride  distinctly  increases  the  coagulability  of  the 
blood  ;  but  he  also  pointed  out  a  fact  which  must  not  be  forgotten,  viz.,  that 
after  calcium  chloride  is  given  in  full  dose  for  a  number  of  days  a  reverse  effect 
is  produced,  and  that  delay  in  coagulation  occurs  under  its* influence.  The 
use  of  the  drug  should  not  be  persisted  in  for  too  long  a  time. —  Univ.  Med. 
Jour.,  October  1898. 
Hara-Kiri. — Dr.  Richard  H.  Harte  {Annals  of  Surgery)  describes  this  form 
of  self-destruction  which  is  practiced  by  Japanese  Samurai  (gentlemen  of  the 
military  class).  The  ceremony  as  carried  out  by  the  Japanese  is  briefly  as 
follows  :  The  condemned,  in  the  presence  of  only  his  friends  and  the  high 
officers  of  the  court,  sits  upon  a  slightly  elevated  platform.  A  sharp  knife  is 
handed  him,  which  he  plunges  into  his  abdomen  to  the  left  and  below  the 
navel,  draws  it  transversely  across  to  a  corresponding  point  on  the  opposite 
side  and  then  removes  it.  He  now  inclines  forward  and  a  kaishaku  (exe- 
cutioner) cuts  off  his  head  with  one  blow  of  a  sharp  sword.--- Ibid. 
Rats  and  the  Plague  in  India. — According  to  the  Lancet  (Loudon) 
evidence  that  the  rat  is  a  factor  in  propagating  the  plague,  is  gradually 
increasing.  At  Karachi  the  observation  has  been  made  that  the  occurrence  of 
a  case  of  plague  is  not  infrequently  preceded  a  few  days  by  the  finding  of  dead 
rats  ;  this  was  particularly  noticed  in  the  first  two  or  three  cases  of  the  recent 
outbreak.  Mice  and  cats  have  also  been  found  to  suffer  from  plague.  Although 
so  much  attention  is  given  to  the  disinfection  of  clothing,  the  evidence  that 
the  disease  is  ever  conveyed  by  this  means  is  very  doubtful.  The  conveyance 
of  the  disease  by  infected  rats  in  grain  bags  is  more  probable,  as  dead  rats  have 
been  found  among  the  piles  of  imported  bags,  and  as  the  disease  is  very  virulent 
in  this  species  of  animal,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  by  this  means  the 
disease  is  chiefly  spread. — Scientific  American,  1898,  p.  72. 
Research  on  the  Presence  of  Hydrocyanic  Acid  In  Various 
Plants. — A.  Hebert  finds  {Bulletin  de  la  SocietS  Chimique  de  Paris)  that  this 
acid  does  not  occur  in  plants  in  sufficiently  large  quantities  to  be  protective. 
Certain  Japanese  plants  which  contain  a  comparatively  large  quantity  are  only 
seriously  toxic  in  doses  of  300  to  400  grammes.  Many  others,  containing  a 
normal  quantity,  would  require  several  kilos,  to  be  ingested  for  any  harm  to  be 
done. — Chemical  News,  Vol.  LXXVIII,  No.  2018,  p.  60. 
Reaction  of  Phosphoric  Acid  on  Glycerin.— M.  M.  Adrian  and  Trill  at 
{Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Chimique  de  Paris)  show  that  there  is  not  yet  a  method 
known  for  obtaining  phospho-glyceric  acid  in  the  pure  state — that  the  acid  is 
decomposed  by  heat,  and  even  by  concentration  in  vacuo,  re-forming  phosphoric 
acid. — Ibid. 
The  Detection  of  a  Yellow  Azo  Dye  Used  for  the  Artificial 
Coloring  of  Fats.— J.  F.  Geisler  (/.  Am.  Chem.  Soc,  20,  no)  gives  a  test 
which  consists  in  adding  a  small  quantity  of  Fuller's  earth  to  the  fat,  placed  in 
a  porcelain  dish.    A  pink  or  violet  color  is  produced  if  the  dye  is  present.  The 
