Amju<iyri886arm'}       Gleanings  from  Foreign  Journals.  343 
shaped  crystals  of  selenium  biniodide  are  formed.  Protiodide  of 
selenium  is  decomposed  by  heat,  is  very  soluble  in  carbon  disulphide, 
forming  a  blood-red  solution,  and  in  chloroform.  When  boiled  with 
water  it  is  decomposed,  yielding  hydriodic  and  selenic  acids,  which 
soon  liberate  free  iodine.  Caustic  alkalies  and  their  carbonates  de- 
compose selenium  iodide.  It  colors  the  skin  yellow  and  is  capable 
of  dissolving  a  large  quantity  of  iodine. — Repertoire  de  Pharmacie, 
1886,  p.  182. 
Hypodermic  Pearls. — To  preserve  solutions  for  hypodermic  use 
some  propose  to  dissolve  the  medicament  in  an  aromatic  distilled 
water;  others  propose  the  addition  of  alcohol,  glycerin,  salicylic  acid, 
etc. ;  these  additions  change  or  modify  the  action  of  the  medicament 
simply  dissolved  in  water.  The  preparation  of  solutions  from  pellets 
or  gelatin  discs,  when  wanted  for  use,  yields  solutions  which  are 
neither  clear  nor  limpid;  to  filter  them  is  almost  impossible,  since  the 
greater  part  of  the  liquid  would  be  taken  up  by  the  filter.  Limousin 
proposes  to  use  glass  pearls  having  a  capacity  of  slightly  more  than 
1  c.c,  ovoid  in  shape  and  having  the  one  end  terminating  in  a  narrow 
tube.  The  interior  of  the  pearls  is  sterilized  according  to  Pasteur's 
method,  by  submitting  it  to  a  temperature  of  about  200°  C.  The  pearls 
are  then  filled  and  the  ends  sealed  with  an  oxyhydrogen  lamp.  Thus 
kept  the  solutions  are  not  affected  by  atmospheric  influence.  A  solu- 
tion of  Bonjean's  ergotin  was  preserved  for  more  than  a  year;  hydro- 
chlorate  of  morphine  was  also  preserved,  becoming  slightly  darkened 
when  exposed  to  the  light.  During  very  cold  weather,  should  any 
crystals  separate  they  can  be  redissolved  by  simply  warming  in  a 
flame.  The  solutions  should  be  prepared  from  boiling  water  which 
has  been  previously  filtered.  Limousin  rarely  employs  distilled 
water  for  making  the  solutions,  experience  having  proven  that,  owing 
to  the  lack  of  saline  matter  which  water  ordinarily  contains,  it  is 
more  prone  to  become  mouldy. — Bull.  Gen.  de  Therap.,  April,  1886, 
p.  316. 
PJiosphorus  Pentafluoride.  —  Thorpe  prepared  pentafluoride  of 
phosphorus  by  the  action  of  trifluoride  of  arsenic  on  pentachloride  of 
phosphorus,  but  was  unable  to  free  the  gas  from  arsenic  trichloride 
and  arsenic  trifluoride,  nor  did  he  succeed  in  liquefying  it.  M.  H. 
Moissau  has  since  obtained  it  in  a  pure  state  by  the  action  of  bromine 
on  trifluoride  of  phosphorus  (5  PFl3+5  Br2=3  PF15+ 2  PBr5).  With 
Cailletet's  apparatus,  temperature  16°  C.,and  a  pressure  of  16  atmos- 
