AM-/a°nuy-1f^arm-}      Gleanings  from  Foreign  Journals.  19 
cantharides  consist  in  its  being  less  painful,  and,  if  required,  the  opera- 
tion can  be  hastened  by  evaporating  under  a  watch-glass.  Methyl- 
iodide  is  prepared  by  passing  nascent  hydriodic  acid  into  methyl 
alcohol;  it  is  colorless,  has  a  pleasant  odor  and  boils  at  43°  C.  It  is 
decomposed  by  light,  the  color  changing  to  yellow  or  red. — Pharm. 
Rundschau,  xi,  p.  762. 
Morrhuol,  the  Active  Principal  of  Cod-Liver  Oil. — M.  Chapoteaut 
treats  cod-liver  oil  first  with  an  aqueous  solution  of  carbonate  of  sodium 
at  a  low  temperature  to  remove  the  acids,  then  agitates  with  alcohol 
(90°);  the  alcoholic  solution  subjected  to  distillation  yields'  morrhuol. 
Morrhuol  has  an  acrid,  bitter  taste  and  strong  odor.  It  contains  ap- 
preciable quantities  of  phosphorus,  iodine  and  bromine,  and  partly 
crystallizes  at  ordinary  temperatures.  The  quantity  of  morrhuol  varies 
with  the  quality  of  the  oil  employed,  the  brown  oil  yielding  from  4*50 
to  6  in  100,  the  straw-colored  from  2*5  to  3  in  100,  and  the  bleached 
oil  from  1*5  to  2  in  100.  The  continued  use  of  morrhuol  does  not 
interfere  with  digestion,  on  the  contrary  producing  a  very  good  appe- 
tite. Dose,  20  centigrams,  equivalent  to  5  grams  of  oil. —  Union 
Pharmaceutique,  November  1885,  p.  525,  from  Bull,  de  Therap. 
Solubility  of  Calcium  Oxide  and  Lime  Water. — Ordinary  quicklime 
contains  caustic  alkali  which  necessitates  the  throwing  away  of  the 
first  portion  in  making  lime  water.  The  solubility  of  calcium  hydrate 
is  influenced  by  the  length  of  time  it  remains  in  contact  with  the 
water,  for  instance,  100  cubic  centimeters  of  lime  water,  made  from 
calcined  marble  in  two  minutes,  required  for  saturation  9*80  c.c.  nor- 
mal hydrochloric  acid — equivalent  to  1*372  grams  Ca20H  in  1  liter, 
showing  the  solubility  to  be  1:728;  the  same  quantity  of  lime  water 
which  had  remained  in  contact  with  the  lime  six  hours  required  9*30 
c.c.  normal  hydrochloric  acid — equivalent  to  1*302  grams  of  Ca(OH)2 
in  1  liter,  showing  the  solubility  to  be  1:768;  100  c.c.  lime  water 
which  had  baen  in  contact  three  days  required  8*92  c.c.  normal  hydro- 
chloric acid  for  saturation — equivalent  to  1*249  grams  CaO  in  1  liter, 
showing  the  solubility  to  be  1:800.  Temperature  is  known  to  affect 
the  solubility  very  much,  boiling  water  dissolving  but  half  as  much 
Ca(OH)2  as  water  at  the  freezing  point.  The  quantity  of  water  used 
to  slake  the  lime  also  affects  the  solubility.  100  parts  of  CaO  require 
32  parts  of  water  to  form  Ca(OH)2;  if  100  parts  of  lime  are  slaked 
with  50  parts  of  water,  the  lime  takes  up  just  enough  water  to  form 
the  hydrate,  excess  of  water  is  lost  by  evaporation.    Calcium  hydrate 
