Am  Jour  Pharra 
Mar.,  1879 
Varieties. 
149 
solution  has  already  commenced  to  decompose,  it  is  heated,  and  to  every  1-10  liter 
14  drops  of  soluble  glass  are  added. —  Pharm.  Ztg  ,  Oct.  23,  1878,  p.  735,  fr.  Polyt. 
Notizbl. 
Easy  Method  for  Preparing  Liquor  Ferri  Dialysati.— F.  Schneider  dissolves  300 
grams  of  commercial  crystallized  ferric  chloride  in  ioo-o  distilled  water,  and  gradu- 
ally adds  350-0  of  caustic  potassa  (offic.  Pharm.  Germ.),  in  small  quantities,  waiting 
after  each  addition  until  the  oxide  of  iron,  which  separates,  redissolves,  and  adding  a 
few  drops  of  liquor  ferri  sesquichlorati,  if  necessary.  He  then  dialyses  the  clear 
liquid,  changing  the  water  until  silver  solution  no  longer  produces  a  reaction  in  the 
diluted  iron  liquid  and  scarcely  any  cloudiness  in  the  water,  determines  the  specific 
gravity  of  the  liquid  and  reduces  it  with  water  to  the  required  strength  (5  per  cent., 
1  "046  spec.  grav.).  The  yield  is  about  1,900  grams,  and  from  12  to  14  days  are 
required  for  the  completion  of  the  preparation. — Schiu.  Wochenschr.,  Nov.  22,  1878, 
j>.  409. 
The  seeds  of  Phaseolus  radiatus,  var.  subtrilobata,  know  as  Azuki  in  China  and 
Japan,  and  used  as  a  prophylactic  against  the  beri-beri  disease  peculiar  to  Eastern 
Asia,  were  analyzed  by  Devars,  who  reports  that  they  contain  no  particular  active 
principle,  but  a  red  coloring  matter,  17  to  18  per  cent,  of  albuminous  substances, 
io-6o  to  12-30  per  cent,  of  sugar  and  gum,  and  34*50  to  37-50  per  cent,  of  starch. — 
Pharm.  Ztg  ,  Dec.  11,  1878,  p.  854,  from  Nieuiv.  Tid-cbr.  <voor  d.  Pharm. 
Fructus  algarobillae,  the  fruit  of  Balsamocarpum  brevifolium,  a  tree  indigenous 
to  Chili,  belonging  to  the  nat.  ord.  Mimoseae,  recommended  in  Gehe  &  Co.'s 
Handelsber.  for  manufacturing  ink  and  for  tanning  purposes,  contains  67*45  Per 
cent,  of  tannic  acid  ;  another  constituent  however,  a  yellow- coloring  matter,  would 
be  apt  to  impart  an  undesirable  yellow  color  to  leather,  for  which  reason  the  fruit  is 
rarely  used  alone,  but  usually  in  connection  with  oak  bark  or  other  materials  in  the 
proportion  of  about  25  per  cent,  algarobilla  to  75  per  cent,  of  oak  bark. — Ztschr.  d. 
Oest.  Ap.  Ver.,  Nov.  20,  1878,  p.  531. 
Nitro-Benzol  in  Oil  of  Cherry  Laurel  and  Bitter  Almond. — The  substitution 
of  nitro-benzol  for  cherry  laurel  oil  can  be  easily  recognized  by  placing  H.2S04,  a 
little  bichromate  of  potassium  and  a  few  drops  of  the  suspected  liquid  into  a  long 
test  tube,  and  exposing  the  end  of  a  glass  rod,  moistened  with  a  solution  of  sulphate 
of  brucia  in  H.2S04,  to  the  evolved  vapors,  when  it  will  turn  bright  red  in  case  the 
liquid  is  nitro-benzol,  but  will  remain  colorless  in  case  it  is  cherry  laurel  oil.  Refer- 
ring to  the  tests  of  Chevallier,  Prof.  Dragendorff,  Prof.  Maisch  ("Amer.  Jour. 
Pharm,"  Nov.,  1857,  p.  544)  and  of  Hoffmann  for  determining  the  presence  of 
nitro-benzol  in  bitter  almond  oil,  Dr.  E.  Pegna  proposes  the  following  new  method, 
•which  he  considers  superior  to  the  others:  A  small  quantity  of  alcohol,  of  a  solution 
