Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
April  1,  1873.  / 
Pharmaceutical  Colleges,  etc. 
179 
When  wanted  for  use,  a  small  piece  is  torn  off  and  covered  with  a  little  water. 
The  black  liquid  which  dissolves  out  is  a  good  writing-ink.  A  square  inch  of 
the  paper  will  give  enough  ink  to  last  for  considerable  writing,  and  a  few  pads 
would  be  all  that  an  exploring  party  need  carry  with  them.  As  water  is  always 
available,  the  ink  is  readily  made. — Set.  Amer.,  March  1,  1873. 
An  Tndelible  Red  Ink. — Dr.  Eisner  states  that  an  indelible  red  ink  can  be 
prepared  as  follows  :  Equal  parts  by  weight  of  copperas  and  cinnabar,  both  in 
fine  powder  and  sifted,  are  rubbed  up  with  linseed  oil  with  a  mulier,  and  finally 
squeezed  through  cloth.  The  thick  paste  can  be  employed  for  writing  or 
stamping  woollen  or  cotton  goods,  and  the  color  remains  fast  after  the  goods 
have  been  bleached  The  reds  usually  employed  are  not  fast  colors,  and  do 
not  resist  the  action  of  bleaching  agents. — Ibid. 
Superior  Adhesive  Paste. — Take  4  parts  by  weight  of  good  glue  and  cover 
it  with  15  parts  of  cold  water;  allow  it  to  stand  for  a  few  hours,  and  then 
gently  heat  until  a  clear  solution  results.  Dilute  the  mixture  with  65  parts  by 
weight  of  boiling  water  under  constant  stirring.  In  the  meantime  prepare  a 
paste  of  30  parts  by  weight  of  starch  and  20  parts  of  water,  avoiding  all  lumps. 
Into  this  pour  the  boiling  hot  solution  of  glue,  under  constant  stirring,  and 
keep  the  mixture  boiling.  After  it  is  cold  add  10  drops  of  carbolic  acid.  This 
paste  is  unusually  adhesive.  It  can  be  used  on  leather,  pasteboard  and  parch- 
ment, and  if  it  be  kept  in  closed  bottles,  to  prevent  the  evaporation  of  water, 
may  be  preserved  for  a  long  time.  In  cases  where  ordinary  stock  paste  will 
-answer  every  purpose,  it  is  always  well  to  add  a  few  drops  of  carbolic  acid  to 
avoid  fermentation  or  molding.— Jour,  of  App.  Chem.,  Feb..  1873. 
A  New  Experiment. — Mr.  Elihu  Thompson  has  made  the  observation  that 
tin- foil,  if  wrapped  about  a  few  crystals  of  chlorate  of  potassa,  can  be  made  to 
detonate  loudly  upon  being  struck  smartly  with  a  hammer  upon  an  anvil,  or  in 
a  mortar  ;  the  phenomenon  being  precisely  analogous  to  the  well-known  ex- 
periment of  triturating  sulphur  and  the  chlorate.  To  the  best  of  our  knowl- 
edge, the  observation  that  such  metals  as  tin  can  be  oxidized  in  this  way,  i?  a 
new  one  and  worthy  of  notice. — Jour.  Franklin  hist.,  March,  1873. 
§|armamttioi  ^alleges  anft  ^mtmiims. 
Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. —  At  the  recent  examination  of  the  can- 
didates for  the  degree  of  Graduate  in  Pharmacy  the  following  questions  were 
offered,  to  be  answered  in  writing: 
Chemistry.    Professor  Robert  Bridges,  M.  I).    Session  1872-73. 
No.  1  What  is  the  composition  of  Cyanogen?  Mention  the  officinal  com- 
pounds in  which  it  is  contained  ;  their  composition,  mode  of  preparation, 
physical  and  chemical  properties,  and  state  those  which  are  poisonous. 
