xiv  Notes  and  News.  {^'l^m!^' 
On  the  H/EmocyToza  of  Birds.— Opie  {Jour.  Exper.  Med.,  1898)  examined 
125  birds.  The  majority  of  them  were  obtained  from  places  notoriously  mala- 
rial;  80  of  these  1}irds  Were  English  sparrows,  and  12  red  winged  blackbirds; 
the  others  belonged  to  a  variety  of  species.  Fifteen  of  these  birds  showed 
iutra-corpuscular  parasites  in  varying  abundance.  Two  forms  of  the  parasite 
were  distinguished  which  correspond  to  those  described  by  Grassi  and  Filletti. 
In  some  of  their  stages  of  development  the  parasites  resembled  the  malarial 
parasite  Of  man  ;  and  it  may  also  be  noted  that  both  forms  of  parasites  were 
present  in  some  cases.— Amer.  Jour.  Med.  Sciences,  Nov.,  1898. 
Foreign  -Bodies  in  the  Bar. --Hummel  {Munchener  med.  Woch. )  makes 
the  following  deductions  :  (1)  The  relation  of  the  normal  ear  canal  to  inani- 
mate foreign  bodies  is  entirely  without  reaction  ;  that  is,  the  foreign  body  in 
the  ear  does  not,  per  se,  endanger  the  integrity  of  the  ear.  (2 )  Every  hasty 
endeavor  at  removal  is,  therefore,  not  only  unnecessary,  but  can  become  very 
injurious.  It  was  also  stated  that  in  nearly  all  cases  not  previously  interfered 
with,  the  foreign  body  could  be  removed  from  the  ear  by  syringing.  In  cases 
requiring  instrumental  removal  of  the  foreign  body  from  the  ear  it  was  recom- 
mended that  only  specialists  in  this  line  should  undertake  the  operation. — 
Dunglisori 's  College  and  Clinical  Record,  1898,  p.  194. 
Determination  of  Tartaric  Acid  in  Presence  of  Citric  Acid. — Born- 
traeger  (Zeitsch.J.  anal.  Chem.,  1898,  p.  8)  uses  a  test  which  depends  upon  the 
fact,  that  on  the  addition  of  calcium  chloride  to  a  solution  (which  has  been  neu- 
tralized with  KOH)  containing  various  amounts  of  citric  and  tartaric  acids, 
the  latter,  on  account  of  the  excess  of  citric  acid,  is  precipitated  as  potassium 
bitartrate. 
Comparison  of  Methods  for  Estimating  Caffein.— E.  F.  Ladd  {Amer. 
Chem.  Jour.,  December,  1898)  tried  the  four  following  methods  for  the  estima- 
tion of  Caffein  in  tea  :  Vite's,  Peligot's,  Crosschoff's,  and  Gomberg's,  with  the 
result  that  higher  percentages  were  uniformly  secured  by  Gomberg's  method 
than  by  either  of  the  others.  Its  simplicity  is  also  an  advantage  in  work  where 
caffein  has  to  be  rapidly  determined. 
An  Active  Principle  in  Mm,ET  Hay. — On  account  of  the  diseased  condi- 
tion of  horses,  when  fed  exclusively  on  millet,  which  is  known  among  farmers 
as  the  "  Millet  Disease,"  E.  F.  L,add  {Amer.  Chem.  Jour.,  December,  1898) 
undertook  to  determine  whether  millet  hay  contained  a  principle  capable  of 
producing  marked  physiological  effects.  While  the  work  was  not  completed, 
it  was  considered  probable  that  the  substance  extracted  by  benzine  was  a 
glucoside.  The  principle  most  resembles  daphnin,  although  markedly  dif- 
ferent from  it  in  some  respects.  That  the  principle  possessed  marked  physio- 
logical properties  was  shown  by  experiments  described. 
Atroscin  and  i-Scopolamin. — T.  Gadamer  finds  {Arch.  d.  Pharm.,  1898,  p. 
382)  that  atroscin  (Hesse)  and  i-scopolamin  (Schmidt)  are  hydrates  of  the  same 
alkaloid.  They  possess  different  melting-points  and  different  amounts  of 
water.  Further,  atroscin  is  not  a  new  alkaloid,  but  the  labile  form  of  i-Scopo- 
lamins,  which  is  only  obtainable  under  certain  conditions. 
