324 
Varieties. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharra. 
\      June,  1879. 
tannin,  and  besides  is  much  cheaper.  Over  the  suberin  is  placed  a  piece  of  gold- 
beater's skin,  cut  star-shaped,  in  the  centre  of  which  several  punctures  are  made  with 
a  fine  needle.  Every  time  the  child  is  suckled,  the  suberin  is  washed  off  with  wafer 
and  the  gold-beater's  skin  replaced,  the  child  drawing  the  milk  through  it  without 
giving  pain.  When  the  child  is  done,  the  suberin  is  again  applied  as  before,  and  so 
on. — Chicago  Med.  Jour,  and  Examiner,  April. 
Isinglass  from  Seaweeds.— A  very  interesting  product,  called  "  kanten,"  or 
vegetable  isinglass — a  species  of  gelose  derived  from  either  of  the  seaweeds  Gelidium' 
corneum  or  Plocaria  lichenoides — is  made  in  China  and  Japan,  and  exported  to 
Europe  in  flat  and  moulded  tablets  and  in  bundles  of  strips.  It  is  known  in  Cochin 
China  as  "  hai  thao."  It  is  soluble  in  boiling  water  only,  of  which  it  takes  up  about 
500  times  its  weight.    It  is  manufactured  as  follows: 
The  seaweed,  called  by  the  native  name  of  "  tengusa,"  is  carefully  washed  and 
afterwards  boiled,  so  as  to  form  a  gluish  decoction,  which  is  strained  off  and  put 
into  square  boxes.  When  cool  it  forms  a  stiff  jelly,  which  can  easily  be  divided  into 
squares  a  foot  in  length.  The  manner  in  which  the  surplus  water  is  removed  is  very 
ingenious.  The  jelly  prisms  are  exposed  in  the  open  air  during  a  cold  night  and 
allowed  to  freeze.  During  the  day  the  sun  melts  the  water,  which  runs  off,  leaving; 
behind  what  one  may  term  the  skeleton  of  white  horny  substance,  which  is  extremely 
light  and  easily  dissolved  in  hot  water;  when  cooled,  it  again  forms  a  stiff  jelly. 
This  article  can  be  applied  to  many  purposes — for  culinary  uses,  for  making  bon- 
bons and  jellies,  for  clarifying  liquids,  as  a  substitute  for  animal  isinglass,  for  making 
moulds  used  by  the  plaster  of  Paris  workers,  for  hardening  the  same  materials — in 
short,  as  a  substitute  for  all  kinds  of  gelatins,  over  which  it  has  the  advantage  of 
producing  a  firmer  jelly. —  Confect.  Jour.,  May. 
American  Fruit  Syrups.— The  production  of  syrups  has  heretofore  been  entirely- 
in  the  hands  of  the  French,  who  have  held  the  control  of  the  South  American  and 
West  India  trade,  where  syrups  have  been  and  still  are  largely  used  by  ladies  in  the 
preparation  of  the  various  cooling  drinks  used  in  the  tropical  countries.  The  long 
time  required  to  transport  these  goods  to  the  tropics  from  Europe,  and  the  superior 
advantages  offering  in  the  United  States — not  only  with  regard  to  the  length  of  time 
for  transporting  the  goods,  but  also  from  the  natural  advantages  of  the  country — 
have  induced  some  of  our  merchants  to  enter  into  competition  with  European  mar- 
kets fcr  the  production  of  fruit  syrups  which  shall  control  the  trade,  not  only  of  this 
country,  but  also  that  of  the  West  Indies  and  South  America. 
The  experiments  have  proved  successful,  by  producing  a  better  class  of  syrupsr 
for  the  strawberry,  raspberry  and  many  other  fruits  are  not  only  indigenous  to  the 
soil,  and  can  therefore  be  produced  cheaper,  but  they  possess  a  far  richer  flavor,  and 
are  more  juicy,  giving  them  the  advantage  over  the  fruits  which  have  to  be  culti- 
vated by  extiaordinary  efforts  in  countries  to  which  they  do  not  naturally  belong.. 
These  syrups  have  been  sent  to  the  tropics  as  experimental  ventures,  and  already 
/ 
