^^'^oy!,'S^^^^'}      Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  561 
oil  of  eucalyptus  gtt.  xviii,  glycerin  15*0,  liquirit  60,  water  ISO'O. 
—Apoth.  Ztg.  1888  No.  56. 
White  wax  obtained  from  yellow  wax  by  sun  bleaching  does  not 
differ  from  this  in  composition  ;  if,  however,  yellow  wax  be  bleached 
by  use  of  chemicals  the  product  is  altered  considerably,  so  that  it 
may  even  be  pronounced  adulterated  by  the  analyst.  Hiibl  finds 
that  the  ratio  of  acidity  to  the  compound  ether  is  as  1  :  3*7,  and  this 
has  been  confirmed  by  other  investigators. 
Acidity  represents  the  number  of  milligrams  of  KOH  required  to 
neutralize  a  warmed  alcohol  mixture  containing  1  gm.  wax ;  this 
figure  should  be  between  19  and  21.  Compound  ether  figure  is 
obtained  by  boiling  for  one  hour  the  above  neutralized  wax  with  excess 
of  alcoholic  KOH;  the  neutralized  KOH,  in  milligrams,  furnishes  the 
figure,  varying  between  73  and  76.  The  saponification  figure  is  the 
sum  of  the  acid  and  compound  ether  figures  and  should  be  between 
92  and  97. 
The  following  figures  have  been  ascertained  by  Hiibl  for  wax  and 
some  of  the  possible  adulterants : 
Acidity.  Compound  Ether.  Saponification.  Ratio. 
Yellow  Wax, 
20-00 
73-80 
93-88 
1:3  67 
White    "    sun  bleached, 
19-87 
74-95 
94-82 
1:3-77 
"    chemically,  "I, 
22-02 
76-15 
98-17 
1:3.45 
,  24-00 
74-56 
98-56 
1:3-10 
Japan  " 
20- 
200- 
220- 
1:10 
Carnauba  Wax, 
4- 
75- 
79- 
1:19 
Tallow, 
4- 
176- 
180- 
1:44 
Stearic  Acid, 
195- 
195- 
Rosin, 
110- 
1-6 
112-6 
1:  015 
Paraffin,         
Ceresin,         — 
—Chem.  Ztg.,  1888,  p.  1277  and  Pharm.  Ztsch.  f.  BussL,  1888,  579. 
Fluid  Extract  of  Hydrastis  on  standing  deposits  a  yellow  precipi- 
tate which  is  generally  considered  to  be  berberine  or  one  of  its  deriva- 
tives. By  recrystallization  from  glacial  acetic  acid  this  substance  is 
obtained  in  colorless  crystalline  scales,  melting  at  133"^,  which  on  ex- 
amination prove  to  be  phytosterin,  a  vegetable  cholesterin-like  body. 
Fluid  Extract  of  Berberis  Aquifolium  also  contains  this  principle. 
The  berberine  sulphate  of  the  market,  even  when  marked  chemically 
pure,  was  found  to  contain  chlorine.  The  alkaloid  berberine  can  be 
obtained  pure  by  dissolving  the  salt  in  acetone  and  crystallizing  ;  the 
resultant  acetone  berberine  is  dissolved  in  alcohol  and  decomposed  by 
