356  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  { Am ji?;,r-J7h9?im- 
gelatin  dissolves,  a  pasty  mass  results,  which  never  hardens.  Not* 
more  than  0*2  to  0*3  gram  of  the  iodide  can  be  incorporated  with  a  five- 
gram  globule. — Pbar.  Zeitung,  April  23. 
Preparation  of  Bitter  Almond  Water. — H.  C.  Vielhaber  powders 
ten  pounds  bitter  almonds  as  finely  as  possible,  separates  the  fatty  oil, 
which  usually  amounts  to  36  to  38  per  cent.,  by  strong  pressure,  and 
reduces  the  almond  press-cake  to  a  very  fine  powder  ;  a  quantity  of 
this  corresponding  to  two  pounds  of  almonds  is  then  distilled  with  water 
(without  alcohol)  until  about  500  grams  of  distillate  have  been  obtained,, 
when  the  receiver  is  disconnected,  another  receiver  attached  and  the  dis- 
tillation continued  as  long  as  the  presence  of  hydrocyanic  acid  can  be 
recognized  by  its  odor  and  taste  in  the  distillate;  this  second  distillate 
is  then  used  in  the  place  of  distilled  water  for  distilling  another  two- 
pound  lot  of  the  almonds,  and  the  operation  continued  thus,  always 
collecting  the  first  and  second  distillates  separately  and  utilizing  the  latter 
for  distilling  the  next  lot,  until  all  the  press  cake  has  been  subjected  to 
distillation  ;  the  first  distillates  are  mixed,  and  also  the  second.  The 
author  thus  obtained  from  10  pounds  of  almonds  about  5  pounds  of 
first  and  9  to  10  pounds  of  second  distillate,  the  former  containing  a 
large  percentage  of  ethereal  almond  oil,  which  is  dissolved  by  adding 
the  officinal  (Ph.  Germ.)  percentage  of  alcohol  (about  J  of  its  weight) 
to  the  distillate.  The  percentage  of  hydrocyanic  is  then  determined 
in  the  first  and  second  distillates,  and  sufficient  of  the  latter  added  to 
the  former  to  reduce  it  to  the  officinal  strength. — Archiv  d.  Pharin., 
May,  1879,  p.  409. 
Conditions  favoring  the  Formation  cf  Corrosive  Sublimate  in 
Calomel  Mixtures. — G.  Vdpius  finds  that : 
1.  No  sublimate  forms  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours  in  mix- 
tures of  calorflel  with  white  sugar,  milk  sugar,  magnesia,  caibonate  of 
magnesium  and  sodium  bicarbonate. 
2.  No  such  formation  takes  place  in  three,  months  jn  mixtures  of 
calomel  with  magnesia,  magnesium  carbonate  and  sugar. 
3.  Minute  traces  of  corrosive  sublimate  are  found  at  the  expiration 
of  the  same  time  in  a  mixture  of  calomel,  bicarbonate  of  sodium  and 
sugar  of  milk. 
4.  A  large  quantity  of  corrosive  sublimate  forms  in  the  same  time  in 
a  mixture  of  calomel,  bicarbonate  of  sodium  and  cane  sugar. 
