18  Meanings  from  Foreign  Journals.     {  Am  ji0n%P8£awn- 
numerous  infusoria  and  bacteria.  11.  It  should  not  become 
mouldy  on  the  addition  of  white  sugar.  12.  When  cultivated  on 
gelatin,  no  bacteria  which  liquefy  the  gelatin  should  be  formed  within 
8  days. — See  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,  1885,  p.  527,  528. 
Artificial  Cocaine. — By  heating  benzoyl-ecgonine  with  a  slight  excess 
of  methyl  iodide  and  a  small  quantity  of  methylic  alcohol  to  100°  C. 
and  evaporating  excess  of  methyl  iodide  and  methylic  alcohol,  Merck 
obtained  a  syrupy  liquid  containing  cocaine  hydriodate,  from  which 
pure  cocaine  was  obtained.  Artificial  cocaine  thus  prepared  fuses  at 
the  same  temperature  as  natural  cocaine  (98°),  besides  showing  the 
same  reactions,  thus  proving  the  identity. — Rundschau,  xi,  p.  716. 
Coloring  and  Bleaching  of  Ivory. — After  removing  fat  by  means  of 
ether  or  benzin,  the  ivory  is  bleached  with  a  mixture  of  equal  parts 
of  commercial  peroxide  of  hydrogen  and  water,  washed  with  water  and 
dried.  To  color  ivory,  it  is  first  treated  with  benzin  or  ether  to 
remove  the  fat,  then  soaked  for  two  minutes  in  a  1  per  cent,  solution 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  washed,  and  allowed  to  remain  in  the  warm  col- 
oring-liquor for  fifteen  or  thirty  minutes.  Coloring  liquors  are  made 
as  follows:  Bed — Fuchsin  10  grams,  water  .3  liters,  vinegar  100 
grams;  or,  eosine  5  grams,  water  1  liter,  tartaric  acid  2  grams.  Violet 
— Methyl-violet  2  grams,  water  1  liter,  tartaric  acid  3  grams.  Blue — 
Methyl-blue  2  grams.  Green — 3  grams  Victoria  or  brilliant  green, 
water  2  liters,  vinegar  100  grams.  Yellow  —  Naphthol-yellow  8 
grams,  water  2  liters,  vinegar  300  grams. — Rundschau,  xi,  p.  723. 
Albumin  in  Urine. — Roberts  recommends  a  mixture  of  1  vol.  of 
concentrated  nitric  acid  and  5  vol.  of  saturated  solution  of  sulphate  of 
magnesium  as  preferable  to  nitric  or  picric  acid. — Rundschau,  xi,  p.  754. 
Methyl-Iodide — a  new  vesicant. — While  conducting  his  experiments 
with  anaesthetics,  Simpson  noticed  that  methyl-iodide  produced  a  redness 
of  the  skin  lasting  for  several  days.  Kirk  is  surprised  that  it  should 
have  escaped  notice  for  such  a  long  time,  and  attributes  it  to  its  ex- 
treme volatility.  In  contact  with  the  hand  for  two  minutes  an  itching 
and  burning  sensation  is  experienced,  after  the  lapse  of  one  hour  the 
redness  becomes  more  perceptible,  and  in  twelve  hours  a  small  blister 
gradually  becoming  larger  was  produced.  The  blister  was  filled  with 
yellow  serum  and  totally  devoid  of  pus,  healing  in  several  days.  The 
operation  is  rendered  less  painful  by  the  addition  of  a  few  drops  of 
soda  solution  to  the  methyl-iodide.  The  principal  objection  to  the 
remedy  is  that  it  cannot  be  used  by  the  patient.    Its  advantages  over 
