268 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharra. 
June,  1913. 
plates  an  anti-narcotic  law,  and  prohibits  the  sale  of  cocaine,  opium 
or  their  derivatives  or  compounds  except  on  the  written  prescrip- 
tion of  a  physician.  Indiana  also  has  one  in  view  with  exceptions 
permitting  the  sale  of  proprietaries  containing  minimum  quantities 
of  narcotics.  New  Mexico  considers  a  bill  which  forbids  the  dis- 
tribution of  harmful  and  injurious  articles.  North  Carolina  legis- 
lature has  for  its  consideration  one  which  goes  so>  far  as  to  make 
it  unlawful  to  prescribe  or  recommend  any  secret  drugs  and  that 
the  prescriber  must  be  required  to  tell  the  full  composition  of  the 
preparation  to  the  patient.  North  Dakota  has  a  bill  which  prohibits 
the  distribution  of  samples  of  preparations  containing  poisons  or 
any  of  the  drugs  named  in  the  federal  regulations  except  upon  the 
special  personal  request  of  the  householder.  Oklahoma  has  in  view 
a'  bill  which,  among  other  stringent  requirements,  gives  authority 
to  health  officials  to  require  medical  inspection  for  all  handlers  of 
foods  and  drugs  who  are  suspected  to  have  contagious,  infectious 
and  loathsome  disease. 
Rhamnus  Cathartica. — Exhausted  with  boiling  alcohol  a 
brown  substance  separates  on  cooling  which  on  recrystallization 
forms  colorless,  microscopic  crystals,  melting  at  83  °  to  850.  This 
body  has  been  named  rhamnosterin.  On  further  treatment  of  the 
alcoholic  solution  a  precipitate  was  obtained  which  was  extracted 
with  benzol;  on  cooling,  this  solution  gave  a  red  mass  from  which 
frangula  emodin  and  a  body  with  a  yellowish  fluorescence,  and 
named  rhamnofluorin,  was  isolated.  The  authors  also  obtained 
chrysophanol,  chrysophanic  acid,  d-glucose  and  a  tannic-like  body. 
(Tschirch  and  Bomberger,  in  Schweiz.  Woch.  Chem.  Pharm.) 
Santonin. — A  rather  delicate  test  for  this  drug  is  as  follows : 
A  small  crystal  is  agitated  in  a  test  tube  with  a  few  drops  of  ethyl 
nitrite,  then  add  a  few  drops  of  potassium  hydroxide  test  solution; 
if  santonin  is  present  a  deep  rose  color  is  produced.  The  potassium 
hydroxide  produces  the  color  reaction;  ethyl  nitrite  alone  does  not 
react  with  santonin,  which  distinguishes  it  from  aloin  and  resorcin, 
these  drugs  being  colored  red  by  ethyl  nitrite.  (Anal,  de  Chim. 
Analyt.) 
Sugar  and  Alcohol  from  Sawdust. — British  chemists  have 
made  the  manufacture  of  sugar  from  sawdust  an  established  fact. 
This  is  chiefly  important,  because,  like  all  sugars,  it  may  be  con- 
verted into  alcohol.  This  new  process  is  a  modification  of  the 
Classen  method,  which  has  been  known  for  some  time  but  never 
