396  GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  FRENCH  JOURNALS. 
chlorate  a  double  salt.  Tannic  acid  does  not  precipitate  the 
base. 
It  is  remarkable  that  aribine  does  not  contain  oxygen  ;  its 
composition  is  expressed  by  the  formula  C46  H20  N.  It  is  conse- 
quently the  first  instance  of  a  solid  non-oxygenous  organic  base 
in  nature  Repert.  de  Pharm.  Mai,  1862. 
Falsification  of  Balsam  of  Copaiba  M.  Reveil  has  examined 
a  specimen  of  copaiba  taken  by  l'Ecole  from  a  druggist.  This 
balsam  is  remarkable  for  its  terebinthinate  odor,  is  solidifiable 
by  magnesia,  and  nearly  completely  soluble  in  absolute  alcohol; 
but  ammonia  solidifies  it  immediately,  whilst  it  troubles  but 
momentarily  the  pure  balsam  of  copaiba  of  the  Central  Phar- 
macy, and  gives  with  Para  balsam  an  emulsion  of  slight  con- 
sistence. A  mixture  of  Para  copaiba  and  turpentine  is  also 
solidified  by  ammonia. — Jour,  de  Qhim.  Med. 
Vanilla  at  Reunion. — It  was  only  between  1840  and  1844 
that  this  culture  was  commenced.  The  events  which  followed 
the  revolution  of  1848  caused  its  neglect,  and  during  the  follow- 
ing ten  years  the  product  was  small.  It  is  only  since  1857  that 
this  culture  has  received  a  greater  development.  Unhappily 
for  the  producer,  the  price  has  followed  an  inverse  ratio, — fall- 
ing as  the  produce  increased,  not  from  a  degeneration  of  quality 
in  the  vanilla,  but  from  excess  in  the  market. 
Here  is  a  table  of  exportation  and  the  mean  prices  of  vanilla 
at  Reunion  from  1857  to  1860  : 
1857,  exported  1200  kilograms  sold  at  150  to  170  francs  per  kil. 
1858,  «       2009       "  "      200  to  250  " 
1859,  "       3000       "  "      160  to  200  " 
1860,  "       6000       "  "       66  to  100  « 
It  is  a  subject  of  inquiry  at  Reunion  at  this  time  to  find  a 
market  for  vanilla,  and  it  is  proposed  to  send  some  of  it  to 
China  where  they  think  this  article  will  be  sought  for. — Repert. 
de  Pharm.  from  Ann.  de  VAg.  des  Colonies. 
Characteristics  of  the  purity  of  Chloroform.  By  M.  Hardy. — 
If  a  little  fragment  of  sodium  is  thrown  into  chloroform-,  it  re- 
mains intact  if  the  chloroform  is  pure. 
When  this  anaesthetic  agent  contains  alcohol  or  other  sub- 
