332 
Current  Literature. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(       July,  1913. 
All  the  work  done  in  building  up  this  synthetic  is  carefully 
detailed  in  a  most  interesting  manner. 
Briefly  it  consists  of  converting  m-hydroxybenzoic  acid  into 
m-methoxybenzoic  acid  by  methyl  sulphate  and  potassium  hy- 
droxide. This  acid  on  nitration  under  suitable  conditions  gives  a 
mixture  of  nitro-derivatives,  from  which  the  required  2  nitro-3- 
methoxybenzoic  acid  is  isolated  without  difficulty.  This  on  reduc- 
tion yields  2  amino-3-methoxybenzoic  acid,  which  on  treatment 
with  methyl  iodide  yields  the  hydriodide  of  2  methylamino-3- 
methoxybenzioc  acid.  This  salt  was  converted  into  the  cor- 
responding hydrochloride,  which  was  found  to  be  identical  with 
the  hydrochloride  of  damasceninic  acid.  The  acid  on  esterifying  by 
Fisher's  method  gave  a  methyl  ester,  which  proved  to  be  identical 
with  the  natural  alkaloid  damascenine. 
The  steps  in  the  synthesis  are  shown  by  the  following  scheme : 
m-Hydroxybenzoic  acid. 
1       .       .  . 
m-Methoxybenzoic  acid. 
2  Nitro-3-methoxybenzoic  acid. 
I 
2  Amino-3-methoxybenzoic  acid, 
i 
2  Methylamino-3-methoxybenzoic  acid. 
Methyl  2-methylamino-3-methoxybenzoate  (damascenine). 
(A.  J.  Ewins  in  Transactions  of  the  Chemical  Society,  Vol.  101, 
1912.  London.) 
John  K.  Thum. 
pepper. 
Pepper  of  commerce  is  the  product  of  Piper  nigrum,  a  trailing 
or  climbing  vine  of  the  East  Indies. 
Both  the  white  and  black  pepper  are  from  the  same  plant,  in 
the  case  of  the  white  kind,  the  rind  or  outer  covering  is  removed 
by  maceration,  drying  white.  Chinese  pepper  planters  obtain  pepper 
for  their  own  use  in  a  very  singular  manner.  Certain  tropical 
birds  are  very  fond  of  eating  the  "  red  "  pepper  berries  and  appear 
to  discriminate,  selecting  only  the  very  best.  These  are  undigested 
and  voided  by  the  birds,  the  "  garden  "  coolies  are  instructed  to 
