1 66  Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  {An^SS*.2Sr,n' 
calcium  salt :  Equal  parts  of  glycerin  and  phosphoric  acid  are  grad- 
ually heated  on  a  sand-bath  in  an  enamelled  vessel  to  1300  and 
1500  C,  and  maintained  at  that  temperature  for  twenty-four  hours, 
when  the  dark-colored  viscid  mass  begins  to  evolve  acrid  fumes. 
Instead  of  calcium  carbonate,  the  authors  use  tribasic  calcium  phos- 
phate to  combine  the  free  phosphoric  acid,  since  effervescence  is 
thus  avoided.  The  free  phosphoric  acid  forms  with  this  dibasic  cal- 
cium phosphate  ;  milk  of  lime  is  then  added  in  excess,  which  com- 
bines with  the  glycerophosphoric  acid  and  again  precipitates  the 
phosphoric  acid  as  tribasic  calcium  phosphate,  which  is  filtered  out 
and  again  used  in  subsequent  operations.  The  filtrate  is  concen- 
trated to  a  pasty  consistence,  then  poured  into  10  parts  of  alcohol, 
and  boiled  for  an  hour.  After  draining  it  is  again  treated  with  alco- 
hol and  precipitated  by  heating,  collected,  and  dried  on  the  water- 
bath.  The  authors  have  obtained  the  salt  in  the  form  of  a  micro- 
crystalline  powder  by  precipitating  the  aqueous  solution  by  boiling, 
when  it  forms  minute,  well-formed  needles.  These,  however,  at 
once  lose  their  crystalline  form  on  exposure  to  the  air,  and  disinte- 
grate even  on  the  microscope  slide  while  under  observation.  Analy- 
sis of  the  salt  gave  figures  corresponding  to  the  anhydrous  salt  of 
Pelouse,  and  did  not  support  the  statement  of  Portes  and  Prunier 
that  it  contains  two  molecules  of  water.  The  solubility  of  the  gly- 
cerophosphate in  water  at  25 0  C.  was  found  to  be  4-53  in  100. — 
your,  de  Pkarm.  (6),  vi,  481,  through  Pharmaceutical  yournal,  Janu- 
ary 29,  1898. 
HOW  THE  BANANA   IS  GROWN. 
In  the  February  number  of  The  Cosmopolitan  appears  an  article 
on  the  above  subject,  by  Frederick  S.  Lyman,  from  which  we  select 
the  following  as  of  interest  to  our  readers : 
Before  Revolutionary  times  Cuba  shipped  many  hundred  thou- 
sands of  bunches  a  year  to  northern  markets,  and  will  yet  do  so 
again  ;  and  Jamaica  has  in  the  three  parishes  of  Portland,  St.  Mary 
and  St.  Thomas  1,500  acres  under  cultivation.  But  the  land  of  the 
banana  par  excellence  is  Costa  Rica;  From  Costa  Rica  come  the 
best  and  largest  bananas  that  are  sold  in  the  New  York  and  New 
Orleans  markets,  the  bunches  weighing  from  25  to  100  pounds 
each.  In  1S96  about  2,000,000  bunches  were  shipped  from  Port 
Limon,and  the  number  for  189/  must  have  reached  3,000,000. 
The  most  famous  banana  district  in  Costa  Rica  is. that  of  Matina. 
