2 g 6  Valuation  of  Blistering  Beetles. 
with  cooling,  the  mercury  was  extinguished,  and,  to  complete  the  pro- 
cess, it  was  only  necessary  to  add  the  mixture  of  fats  to  it  and 
thoroughly  mix.  The  above  process  gave  a  smooth,  uniform  oint- 
ment of  proper  consistence.  We  would  just  say  that  the  idea  of 
rubbing  the  mercury  with  the  old  oinment  is  not  original  with  us,  hav- 
ing tried  it  on  the  authority  of  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory  ;  but  we  believe 
the  plan  of  melting  the  fats  together,  straining,  and  adding  to  the 
extinguished  mercury  when  they  are  almost  stiff,  has  never  before  been 
mentioned.  It  certainly  facilitates  the  process  and  gives  a  very  fine 
preparation.1 
VALUATION  OF  BLISTERING  BEETLES. 
By  Levi  Fahnestock,  Ph.G. 
{Abstract from  an  Inaugural  Essay.) 
In  undertaking  a  series  of  experiments  on  this  subject,  old  Chinese 
blistering  beetles  were  first  treated  by  the  process  of  Prof.  Procter,  as 
modified  by  Fumouze.  200  grains  of  powdered  Mylabris  cichorii  were 
exhausted  with  chloroform  by  maceration  and  expression,  from  the  solu- 
tion thus  obtained  most  of  the  chloroform  was  distilled  off,  the  residue 
was  poured  into  a  dish,  and  the  retort  rinsed  out  with  a  small  quantity 
of  chloroform  and  this  added  to  the  balance.  The  solution  was  allowed 
to  evaporate  spontaneously  to  the  consistance  of  a  thick  extract,  which 
was  treated  with  bisulphide  of  carbon  ;  a  large  quantity  of  fatty  matter  was 
taken  up  by  the  solvent,  but  a  considerable  quantity  of  foreign  matter  was 
left  behind  with  the  cantharidin.  This  impure  cantharidin  was  then 
dissolved  in  a  small  portion  of  alcohol,  the  solution  passed  through  a 
filter,  in  order  to  remove  a  little  dust,  and  allowed  to  evaporate  spon- 
taneously ;  the  cantharidin  was  obtained  in  slightly  purer  crystals,  but 
still  of  a  dark-brown  color,  and  weighed  2*8  grains. 
This  strange  insolubility  of  a  portion  of  the  fatty  matter  in  bisulphide 
of  carbon  is  entirely  at  variance  with  the  experiments  of  Prof.  Maisch, 
conducted  by  the  same  process  and  on  the  same  lot  of  beetles  about  six 
years  ago,  at  which  time  he  obtained  the  cantharidin  almost  white  with- 
out purification  It  was  concluded,  therefore,  that  the  solubility  of  the 
fatty  matter  had  become  impaired  by  the  age  of  the  beetles,  as  no  par- 
ticular precaution  had  been  taken  to  preserve  them.     200  grains  of  the 
1  The  process  described  is  that  of  the  German  Pharmacopoeia. — Editor. 
