94  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  {Am,Feb.r,'i£5.arm* 
Examination  of  Ipecac. — I.  Qualitative.  A  small  quantity  of  the 
powdered  drug  is  mixed  with  milk  of  lime,  dried  and  extracted 
with  chloroform ;  the  chloroformic  solution  is  agitated  with  acidu- 
lated water,  the  aqueous  solution  concentrated,  mixed  with  concen 
trated  sulphuric  acid  and  molybdate  of  ammonium  should  produce 
at  once  a  red  color  changing  to  green.  2.  Quantitative.  10  gm.  of 
the  powdered  ipecac  are  intimately  mixed  with  5  gm.  sodium  car- 
bonate and  I  gm.  crystallized  ferric  chloride,  the  mixture  digested 
for  one  hour  with  100  gm.  60  per  cent,  methyl  alcohol  in  a  water- 
bath  with  inverted  condenser ;  it  is  then  filtered  and  evaporated  to 
remove  the  alcohol  (at  this  stage  the  choline  or  its  decomposition 
products  are  volatilized),  the  residue  taken  up  with  50  cc.  very  dilute 
water  of  ammonia  and  this  mixture  agitated  with  25  cc.  chloroform. 
The  chloroform  solution  is  agitated  with  slightly  acidulated  water, 
and  the  latter  solution  titrated  with  Mayer's  reagent  (each  cc.  corre- 
sponds to  0-0189  gm-  emetine);  5  to  5-5  cc.  of  the  reagent  should 
be  necessary  for  the  completion  of  the  reaction,  indicating  an  alka- 
loidal  strength  of  at  least  0  945  per  cent,  emetine. — Dr.  E.  M. 
Arndt,  Apotheker  Ztg.y  1890,  781. 
Estimation  of  mercuric  chloride  in  solutions,  pastilles  and  sublimate 
gauze. — In  the  absence  of  alkaline  chlorides,  solutions  of  mercuric 
chloride  containing  about  one  gram  in  a  litre  are  estimated  as  fol- 
lows :  100  cc.  are  thoroughly  agitated  with  01  to  0  2  gm.  magne- 
sium oxide,  a  few  drops  of  potassium  chromate  solution  added  and 
titrated  with  -^  solution  of  silver  nitrate.  Each.  cc.  AgNOs  corre- 
sponds to  0-01355  gm.  mercuric  chloride.  In  solutions  containing 
alkaline  chlorides  or  in  pastilles  two  determinations  are  necessary  :  In 
one  the  total  chlorine  is  estimated  as  above  ;  in  the  other  the  solution 
is  evaporated  to  ^ryness  in  a  porcelain  capsule,  then  gently  heated  for 
some  minutes,  finally  applying  a  strong  heat  to  volatilize  the  mercuric 
chloride ;  after  cooling  the  residue  is  dissolved  in  water,  potassium 
chromate  added  and  the  solution  titrated  with  AgN03.  The  dif- 
ference between  the  two  titrations  gives  the  silver  nitrate  solution 
corresponding  to  the  mercuric  chloride.  In  sublimate  gauze  the 
mercuric  chloride  (and  alkaline  chloride)  is  extracted  by  macerating 
50  gms.  of  the  material  with  500  cc.  water,  filtering  and  using  200  cc. 
for  the  total  chlorine  estimation,  also  200  cc.  for  the  alkaline  chlorides 
as  just  described  ;  the  difference  will  give  AgNOa  solution  necessary 
for  20  grams  of  the  material. — Dr.  J.  Bongartz,  Apotheker  Ztg  , 
1890,791. 
