Decl' S'"'^'}     Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  613 
color  of  mercuric  salicylate,  will  yield  a  product  which  should  be  en- 
tirely soluble  in  NaOH ;  should  this  not  be  the  case  an  additional 
quantity  of  salicylic  acid  should  be  added.  The  precipitate  is  washed 
and  dried  at  a  moderate  temperature;  it  possesses  the  formula 
O  ^ 
C6H4CO-0>  Hg.— J.  J.  Kranzfeld,  Pharm,  Ztschr.  f.  RussL,  1888. 
641. 
Alcohol  adulterations  of  volatile  oils  can  be  detected  and  estimated 
by  agitating  the  oils  with  twice  their  volume  of  glycerin  of  sp.gr.  1*215 
(contains  about  20  per  cent,  water  which  prevents  the  glycerin  from 
dissolving  a  portion  of  the  volatile  oil)  in  a  graduated  tube  or  cylinder 
for  5  minutes  and  allowing  to  stand  until  the  mixture  separates  into 
two  layers ;  the  increase  of  the  glycerin  layer  is  due  to  the  alcohol. 
If  the  tare  of  the  cylinder  be  taken  and  the  oil  and  glycerin  weighed, 
the  oil  after  separating  can  be  removed  by  a  pipette  (the  last  drops 
are  best  absorbed  by  a  piece  of  filter  paper)  the  increase  in  weight  of 
the  glycerin  is  directly  due  to  the  alcohol  present  in  the  oil. — H. 
Hager,  Pharm.  Ztg.  1888,  650. 
Safranin,  a  new  reagent  for  glucose.  The  procedure  in  testing 
urine  is  to  take  1  cc.  urine,  5  cc.  safranin  solution  (1  :  1000),  2  cc. 
solution  of  soda  and  heat  to  the  boiling  point ;  if  decolorization  takes 
place  the  urine  is  abnormal.  From  a  number  of  experiments  the 
author  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  all  normal  urine  contains  small 
quantities  of  carbo-hydrates,  but  the  amount  is  not  sufficient  to  de- 
colorize the  above  quantity  of  safranin  solution.  Uric  acid,  kreatin, 
chloral,  chloroform,  hydrogen  peroxide,  and  hydroxylamin  salts,  which 
reduce  Fehling's  solution,  will  not  decolorize  this  test  solution.  Albu- 
men, however,  decolorizes  it  completely,  but  very  slowly. 
The  solution  keeps  indefinitely,  and  is  also  of  service  in  the  detec- 
tion of  sugar  (in  foods,  etc.),  and  glucosides  after  boiling  with  mineral 
acids. — L.  Crismer,  Pharm.  Ztg.,  1888,  651. 
Disinfectant  soap  for  surgeon's  use,  proposed  by  Reverdin,  is  made 
from  oil  of  sweet  almonds,  72,  solution  of  potash,  12,  solution  of  soda, 
24,  sulphocarbolate  of  zinc,  2,  rose  water,  10.  Mix  the  oils  with  the 
alkalies,  add  the  zinc  salt  dissolved  in  the  rose  water,  and  keep  at  20° 
for  several  days ;  pour  into  moulds.  Contains  an  excess  of  fat. — 
Pharm.  Ztg.,  1888,  660. 
Cod-liver  oil. — The  rancidity  of  the  oil  does  not  depend  upon  the 
presence  of  free  fatty  acids,  as  in  the  case  of  butter,  but  is  due  to  other 
