248  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  {AmMa";^m* 
10  grams  of"  mercury. —  Ztschr.  d.  Allg.  Oest.  Ap.  Ver.,  March  1,  1879, 
p.  104. 
Unguentum  diachylon  Hebrse.  —  According  to  Dr.  Vulpius, 
this  ointment  as  made  in  Hebra's  clinic  at  Vienna,  is  far  superior  in 
every  respect  to  the  officinal  (Ph.G.),  and  will  keep  for  weeks  without 
turning  rancid.  It  is  made  by  the  following  formula  :  1  kg.  litharge 
is  heated  with  sufficient  water  and  4  kg.  olive  oil  until  the  reaction  is 
completed,  when  50  grams  lavender  oil  are  added  to  the  strained  and 
cooling  mass. — Pharm.  Ztg.,  March  8,  1879,  P-  I5I- 
Carbolic  Lint. — Prof.  Bruns  saturates  1  kg.  lint  with  a  solution  of 
100*0  carbolic  acid,  400*0  rosin  and  40*0  castor  oil  in  2  liters  alcohol. 
— Pharm.  Ztg.,  March  8,  1879,  p.  151. 
Chloral  Plasters,  recommended  for  pain  caused  by  colds,  neuralgia 
or  syphilis,  are  made  by  spreading  powdered  chloral  on  ordinary  Bur- 
gundy pitch  plasters — 1  or  2  grams  of  chloral  to  every  square  decimeter. 
They  are  applied  for  24  or  48  hours  and  then  removed  ;  the  small 
blisters  formed  are  opened  and  dressed  with  simple  cerate,  when  the 
original  pain  has  usually  ceased  entirely. — Ztschr.  d.  Allg.  Oest.  Apoth. 
Fer.,  Feb.  10,  1879,  p.  69. 
Virginin,  a  New  Mineral  Fat.— Prof.  Sonnenschein  describes  vir- 
ginin  as  a  new,  semi-transparent,  yellowish,  fatty  mass,  which  when 
fused  has  a  blue  fluorescence  ;  it  commences  to  melt  at  47°C,  is  liquid 
at  50°,  solidifies  again  at  460,  is  partly  soluble  in  ether,  and  separates 
again  from  it  as  an  amorphous,  fatty  substance.  It  contains  no  acid,  is 
obtained  from  the  residue  when  distilling  crude  petroleum,  does  not 
absorb  oxygen  from  the  air,  and  can  never  turn  rancid. — Pharm.  Ztg., 
Feb.  19,  1879,  p.  in. 
Caustic  Pencils  of  Sulphate  of  Copper.— W.  Weber  deprives 
sulphate  of  copper  of  all  water  of  crysrallization  by  heating  it  in  a 
small  porcelain  dish,  stirring  continually,  until  a  white  powder  is 
obtained.  Paper  moulds  are  made  over  a  lead  pencil  or  glass  tube  ; 
these  are  filled  with  the  dry  sulphate  as  uniformly  and  solidly  as  possi- 
ble, then  closed  and  carefully  rolled  into  suitable  pieces  of  linen,  previ- 
ously saturated  with  water  and  expressed  with  the  hand  ;  after  3  or  4 
hours,  the  salt  has  re-absorbed  its  water  of  crystallization,  and  after 
drying  for  a  short  time  forms  very  hard  pencils. — Archiv  d.  Pharm*, 
Feb.,  1879,  p.  160. 
