544  Gleanings  from  Foreign  Journals. 
Am.  Jocr.  Pharm. 
Dec.  1, 1871 . 
Copper  in  Spring  and  Pump  Water. — Dr.  Roux  observed  that 
spring  water  became  impregnated  with  a  minute  quantity  of  copper, 
in  consequence  of  the  waste  waters  from  a  coppersmith's  shop  perco- 
lating through  the  soil,  and  finding  their  way  to  the  spring.  Water 
pumped  through  a  copper  pump  contained  somewhat  more  copper,  but 
not  sufficient  to  prove  injurious  to  health. — Joiirn.  de  Pharm.  et  de 
Chim,,  1871,  Aout. 
Adulteration  of  Chocolate. — Archiv  d.  Pharm.,  1871,  July,  con- 
tains a  notice  that,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bingen-on-the-Rhine,  grape 
seeds  are  sold  at  the  rate  of  about  §1  per  cwt.,  and  that  in  that  neigh- 
borhood 500  cwt.  had  been  ground  for  the  purpose,  it  is  said,  of  adul- 
terating chocolate. 
The  officinal  borax,  according  to  M.  Gille,  is  in  primatic  crystals 
containing  47*10  parts  water  or  10  equivalents  of  crystallization, 
while  that  ordinarily  met  with  is  crystallized  in  octohedrons,  and  con- 
tains only  five  equivalents  or  30*61  per  cent,  water.  Borax 
being  made  for  use  in  the  arts,  less  care  is  bestowed  upon  it  than 
it  made  for  medicinal  purposes ;  hence  the  commercial  article  usually 
contains  the  two  varieties,  so  that  a  calculation  based  upon  the  equiv- 
alents would  not  give  correctly  the  quantity  of  commercial  borax 
necessary  to  replace  a  given  weight  of  the  prismatic.  The  latter  form 
is  obtained  when  solutions  of  borax  are  cooled  to  56° C.  and  below  ; 
while  the  octohedric  crystals  are  formed  at  a  temperature  of  79° C. 
The  crystalline  form,  translucence  and  efflorescence  are  the  principal 
physical  characters  for  distinguishing  the  officinal  from  the  commer- 
cial borax. — Journ.  de  Pharm.  et  de  Chim.,  Sept.,  1871. 
Milk  preserved  for  thirteen  yearn  by  Appert's  method,  has  been  ex- 
amined by  Prof.  Bouchardat.  It  was  in  three  layers,  the  lowest  of 
which  conisted  of  a  thin  white  deposit ;  the  intermediate  stratum  was 
most  abundant,  and  formed  of  an  aqueous  liquid,  not  perfectly  trans- 
parent and  of  a  yellowish  color.  The  upper  layer  consisted  mainly 
of  fat  which  is  partly  liquid  at  15°C.;  only  the  two  lower  strata 
could  be  mixed  by  agitation,  the  butter  separating  readily.  When 
the  flask  was  opened,  the  liquid  was  found  to  have  a  faint  odor  of 
boiled  milk ;  it  was  not  coagulated  by  heat.  The  butter  solidified 
during  the  night,  its  taste  was  little  agreeable,  somewhat  rancid, 
though  its  odor  was  distinct  from  that  of  butyric  acid.— i^^^er^.  de 
Pharm.,  Sept.,  1871. 
