Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
May  1,  1871.  j 
Oil  of  Peppermint,  etc. 
223 
Oollodium  Mercuriale,  according  to  the  Giorn.  d.  Med.  di  Torino^ 
•collodium  30  grm.,  terebinth,  venet.  1.50,  hydrarg.  bichlor.  corros, 
0.30—0.50  gvm.—Pharm.  Zeitung,  1871,  No.  5. 
Glycerin  in  Pills. — The  Pharm.  ZeituJig,  No.  10,  has  been  informed 
that  pills  containing  glycerin  cannot  be  silvered  or  gilt,  since  the  lus- 
tre of  both  metals  at  once  disappears,  rendering  the  pills  unsightly. 
Hager  (PA.  Cent.  Halle,  1871,  51)  states,  that  this  occurs  only  with 
recently  prepared  pills,  and  with  older  pills  if  prepared  with  an  ex- 
cessive quantity  of  glycerin.  Two,  and  for  quinia  and  iron  three, 
drops  of  glycerin  are  sufficient  for  thirty  pills. 
Preparation  of  Chloral. — Springmiihl  proposes,  in  Polytechn.  No- 
tizhl.,  to  shorten  the  long  process  by  the  addition  of  1  grm.  iodine  to 
500  grm.  absolute  alcohol ;  after  passing  chlorine  through  the  liquid 
for  twelve  hours,  the  free  acid  is  neutralized  by  lime,  the  warm  liquid 
filtered  and  distilled.  Ethyliodide  distils  over  at  72°  C,  and  between 
110*^  and  115°  C.  the  chloral,  which  is  treated  in  the  usual  way  with 
sulphuric  acid,  redistillation,  etc. — Pharm.  Zeit.,  1871,  No.  11. 
Detection  of  Iodine  and  Bromine. — Hager  describes  a  curious  be- 
havior of  these  halogens  to  solvents.  Bisulphide  of  carbon  agitated 
with  bromine  water,  acquires  a  yellow  color,  leaving  the  water  color, 
less ;  if  now  iodine  is  added,  it  will  be  dissolved  by  the  carbon  bisul- 
phide, while  the  bromine  again  dissolves  in  the  water.  This  displac- 
ing of  the  bromine  from  its  solution  in  bisulphide  of  carbon  occurs 
the  more  readily  if  the  water  contains  a  salt  in  solution,  and  the  bro- 
mine may,  by  careful  agitation,  be  dissolved  in  ether. 
If  solutions  of  bromide  of  potassium  and  ferric  chloride  are  agi- 
tated with  carbon  bisulphide,  no  alteration  takes  place  ;  but  on  the 
addition  of  an  iodide,  the  bisulphide  acquires  the  violet  color  charac- 
teristic of  free  iodine,  and  ether  agitated  with  the  aqueous  liquid 
dissolves  bromine  and  becomes  yellow.  Minute  proportions  of  iodine 
■{less  than  1-1 00th)  cannot  be  detected  by  these  methods. — Pharm. 
Centr.  Halle,  1871,  49,  50. 
OIL  OF  PEPPERMINT  AS  A  LOCAL  ANESTHETIC. 
Dr.  A.  Wright  writes  to  the  editor  of  the  Lancet,  (Nov.  19,  1870,) 
that,  "  a  few  years  ago,  I  became  acquainted  with  the  fact  of  the 
natives,  [Chinese,]  when  sufi'ering  with  facial  neuralgia,  using  oil  of 
