AmE^Je0bU^8P86a^m•}       Gleanings  from  Foreign  Journals.  103 
i 
dissolved  in  10  parts  of  chloroform  and  2*5  parts  of  mastic  added, 
allowed  to  stand  for  several  days  and  shaken  occasionally. — Phar- 
maceutische  Zeitschrift  fuer  Pussland,  1885,  p.  756. 
Cumol. — By  heating  1  part  of  aluminium  chloride  with  five  parts 
of  diphenylpropane,  Silva  obtained  cumol,  a  considerable  quantity  of 
benzol  and  a  tarry  substance.  Cumol  thus  obtained  boils  at  158°- 
160°  C.  Silva  believes  it  to  be  the  normal  propyl-benzol. —  Chemiker 
Zeitung,  ix.  p.  1770. 
Preparation  of  Pure  Oxalic  Acid. — The  method  usually  adopted 
for  preparing  chemically  pure  oxalic  acid  (crystallization  from  hot 
solution  of  oxalic  acid  in  dilute  muriatic  acid)  is  tedious  and  entails 
considerable  loss.  Soltsien  obtains  pure  oxalic  acid  by  sublimation. 
Care  must  be  taken  to  deprive  the  acid  of  its  water  of  crystallization 
at  a  temperature  not  exceeding  85°  C;  while  still  warm  it  is  placed 
in  a  porcelain  evaporating  dish  and  covered  with  filtering  paper, 
over  the  paper  is  placed  a  cone  of  filtering  paper  and  a  glass  funnel. 
It  is  then  heated  on  a  sand-bath  at  a  temperature  below  150°  C. 
Sublimated  oxalic  acid  is  hygroscopic.  To  prepare  a  normal  solution 
it  is  of  course  advisable  to  keep  in  a  dessicator  with  sulphuric  acid  or 
to  recrystallize. —  Chemisch-technischer  Central  Anzeiger,  iv.  p.  139. 
Sulphate  of  Sparteine — a  new  remedy  in  heart  affections. — Sparteine 
is  an  alkaloid  obtained  from  Spartium  scoparium.  It  is  an  oily 
liquid,  decidedly  alkaline,  insoluble  in  water.  Sparteine  forms  with 
sulphuric  acid  a  crystallizable  salt,  soluble  in  water.  Germain-See 
experimented  with  an  aqueous  solution  of  sulphate  of  sparteine — 10 
centigram  doses  produce  a  remarkable  effect  on  the  heart  without  dis- 
turbing digestion  or  influencing  the  nervous  system.  Germain-See 
employed  it  in  a  number  of  cases,  and  cites  as  the  result  of  his  experi- 
ments in  cardiac  affections,  three  characteristic  effects.  The  first, 
which  is  the  most  important,  is  the  quickening  and  renewed  action  of 
the  heart  and  pulse,  in  this  respect  resembling  digitalis  or  lily  of  the 
valley,  but  its  action  is  more  prompt  and  more  durable.  The  second 
is  the  regulation  of  the  disturbed  heart  rhythm,  no  other  medicine  can 
be  compared  with  it  for  this  purpose.  The  third  is  the  acceleration 
of  the  heart  beat.  All  these  effects  appear  in  about  one  hour  or 
several  hours  at  the  most,  a:ad  are  maintained  three  or  four  clays  after 
the  medicament  has  been  taken.  During  this  time  the  general  strength 
is  increased  and  respiration  is  quite  easy.  When  the  pulse  is  irregu- 
lar, intermittent  and  arhythmic,  sulphate  of  sparteine  quickly  re-estab- 
