128  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals. 
Vieirin  or  Vieiric  Acid. — Vieirin  is  a  bitter  principle,  isolated  from 
the  bark  of  the  root  of  Remigia  ferruginea,  D.  C,  (Cinchona  ferru- 
ginea.,  St.  Hil.)  and  was  first  introduced  and  recommended  by  Dr. 
Vieira  in  the  treatment  of  scrofula  and  rhachitis.  It  is  made  by  mixing 
the  powdered  bark  with  half  its  weight  of  hydrate  of  lime,  extracting 
with  boiling  water,  treating  the  filtrate  with  hydrochloric  acid  and  the 
resulting  precipitate  with  animal  charcoal.  When  fresh  it  is  white  and 
possesses  the  pleasant  odor  of  ®)uina  de  campo  ;  on  exposure  to  the  air 
it  turns  yellow,  and  when  dry  possesses  scarcely  any  odor.  It  is 
heavier  than  water,  insoluble  in  ether,  water  and  the  volatile  oils> 
scarcely  soluble  in  fatty  oils,  but  soluble  in  alcohol  and  chloroform. 
Tinctura  Vieirinse  is  a  solution  of  I  part  vieirin  in  10  of 
alcohol.  Syrupus  Vieiritue,  or  Syr.  calcli  vieirinatis  consists  of  3*0  hydrate 
of  calcium,  3*0  vierin,  water  and  sugar,  of  each  sufficient  to  make 
300*0  of  strained  syrup. — Pharm.  Centralh.  Jan.  9,  1879,  p.  12. 
Ferrum  sub-benzoicum,  2(Fe203)3(C14H503)+i5HO,  used  success- 
fully in  the  treatment  of  scrofula  in  the  dose  of  o*i  to  0*2,  three  or 
four  times  daily,  is  made  as  follows:  Mix  100  parts  of  ammonia  water, 
sp.  gr.  0*96,  with  1500  parts  of  distilled  water,  and  dissolve  in  the 
mixture,  with  constant  agitation,  37  parts  of  crystallized  benzoic  acid, 
add  60  parts  of  acetic  acid  or  sufficient  to  render  the  mixture  neutral, 
and  precipitate  it  with  a  mixture  prepared  of  72  parts  of  solution  of 
ferric  chloride  (sp.  gr.  1*48)  and  100  parts  of  distilled  water.  After 
standing  for  one  day,  collect  the  precipitate  on  a  strainer,  wash  with 
cold  water,  and,  having  removed  the  greater  portion  of  the  latter  by 
expressing,  dry  the  precipitate  in  a  warm  place. — Ibid.,  p.  11. 
Chrysophanic  acid  has  been  recommended  in  England  as  a  remedy 
for  psoriasis  and  parasitic  skin  diseases,  and  was  recently  used  success- 
fully in  several  of  the  largest  hospitals  of  Berlin.  It  appears  in  com- 
merce as  a  yellow  amorphous  powder,  possessing  a  peculiar  strong  odor, 
and  is  not  soluble  in  water,  scarcely  soluble  in  alcohol,  but  more  so  in 
ether;  it  does  not  answer  the  description  of  the  pure  acid,  nor  does  it 
yield  exactly  the  same  reactions,  and  must  therefore  be  considered  an 
impure  preparation. — Pharm.  Ztg.,  Dec.  18,  1878,  p.  872. 
Quinia  Arsenite. — Commercial  quinia  arsenite  was  analyzed  by 
Oscar  Adler,  who  found  it  to  be  a  not  uniform  mixture  of  arsenious 
