354  Gleanings  from  the  Foreign  "Journals.  {AmAigU,ri^6arm' 
tallizes  in  fine  needles,  fuses  at  90 — 91 0  C,  and  yields  rather  unstable 
crystallizable  salts. — Ber.  Deutsch.  Che?n.  Ges.,  1876,  154 — 157. 
Hesperidin. — Emanuele  Paterno  and  Giovanni  Briosi  have  obtained 
this  principle  pure  by  a  modification  of  Pfefrer's  process,  The  cut  and 
bruised  oranges  are  covered  with  diluted  alcohol,  potassa  solution  is 
added  in  excess,  the  liquor  filtered  after  two  days  and  impure  hesperidin 
precipitated  by  muriatic  acid  ;  the  precipitate  is  boiled  with  acetic  acid 
for  8  or  10  minutes,  and,  after  cooling,  filtered  from  the  dark  resinous 
mass.  After  two  days  the  filtrate  commenced  to  separate  white,  fine 
needles  and  spheric  crystals  of  nearly  pure  hesperidin,  the  separation 
continuing  for  several  months.  Four  thousand  ripe  oranges  yielded 
about  180  grams  of  hesperidin,  which  was  also  obtained  from  the  ripe 
fruit  of  Citrus  limonum  and  C.  medica.  It  fuses  between  2430  and 
245°C,  is  nearly  insoluble  in  the  simple  solvents,  but  soluble  in  alkalies 
and  in  anilin,  from  which  it  is  precipitated  by  ether. — Ber.  D.  Chem. 
Ges.,  1876,  250-252. 
Oil  of  Parsley. — TrommsdorfF  obtained  from  1 5  kilos  parsley  fruit 
90  grams,  and  by  shaking  the  aqueous  distillate  with  benzol,  16  grams 
more  of  the  volatile  oil,  which  was  examined  by  E.  von  Gerichten. 
It  commenced  to  boil  at  i6o°C,  nearly  all  the  terpen  having  come 
over  below  2100.  Between  2700  and  2900  a  heavy  yellowish-green, 
very  refractive,  uncrystallizable  liquid  was  obtained,  and  above  300°C. 
brown  decomposition  products.  By  repeated  rectification  of  the  first 
portion,  the  pure,  colorless  terpen  was  obtained,  boiling  between  1600 
and  i64°C,  and  having  an  intense  odor  of  parsley.  Its  specific  gravity 
at  I2°C.  is  '865,  and  its  rotation  power  for  yellow  light  and  a  column 
of  100  mm.  =  — 30*8°.  Muriatic  acid  colors  it  gradually  brown  and 
destroys  the  parsley  odor.  Terpin  and  solid  chlorhydrates  could  not  be 
obtained. — Ibid.,  258-260. 
The  Conversion  of  Brucia  into  Strychnia  by  means  of  nitric  acid,  as  re- 
ported by  Sonnenschein  ("Am.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1875,  p.  345),  does  not 
appear  to  be  as  readily  effected.  A  series  of  experiments,  made  by 
A.  J.  Cownley,  led  him  to  the  conclusions,  that  1,  if  brucia  be  treated 
with  enough  dilute  nitric  acid  to  acidify  the  solution,  there  is  no  change 
in  color,  and  caustic  fixed  alkalies  precipitate  the  alkaloid  ;  2,  if  enough 
acid  be  used  just  to  form  the  red  color  without  the  aid  of  heat,  there  is 
a  partial  precipitation  with  akali ;  3,  if  gentle  heat  be  used  in  presence 
