410  Gleanings  from  the  Foreign  Journals.  {AmsllZ' S?™™' 
all  traces  of  this  gas,  through  the  bottle  containing  the  salicylic  acid, 
and  through  titrated  baryta  water.  The  author  cautions  against  the 
use  of  sublimed  salicylic  acid,  since  this  mild  remedy  decomposes 
spontaneously  into  the  very  caustic  phenol. — Phar.  Zeitschr.f.  Russl. 
Preparation  of  salicylic  cotton  wadding. — For  this  purpose  a  white 
wadding  completely  freed  from  fat  by  sodium  carbonate  is  necessary. 
E.  Rennard  saturates  in  a  porcelain  mortar  10  parts  of  this  wadding 
with  a  solution  of  2  parts  salicylic  acid  in  15  of  alcohol  and  35  of 
water  of  25  to  30°C  (77  to  86°F.).  After  the  solution  has  been 
completely  absorbed,  and  by  means  of  the  pistil  uniformly  distributed 
through  the  cotton,  the  latter  is  subjected  to  pressure  until  25  parts  of 
the  solution  are  recovered,  which  may  be  used  for  wetting  a  fresh  por- 
tion of  cotton.  If  it  is  desired  to  avoid  expression,  only  one  part  of 
salicylic  acid  is  employed,  but  the  full  quantity  of  liquid  mentioned 
above,  which  is  about  the  smallest  quantity  with  which  a  uniform 
moistening  of  the  cotton  can  be  effected.  The  wadding  is  then  dried 
at  ordinary  temperature,  since  a  higher  heat  causes  a  reddish  color. 
Thiersch  has  recommended  the  addition  of  some  glycerin,  in  order  to 
fix  the  acid  more  permanently  upon  the  cotton  ;  but  Rennard  states 
that  the  addition  of  10  and  even  20  per  cent,  of  glycerin  will  not  com- 
pletely prevent  the  dusting  of  the  acid  on  beating  the  cotton. 
The  above  proportions  furnish  a  wadding  impregnated  with  10  per 
cent,  of  salicylic  acid  ;  this  strength  and  a  wadding  containing  4  per 
cent,  are  most  generally  employed. — Zeitsch.  Oester.  Ap.  Ver. 
Diospyros  fruit,  known  in  Bombay  as  timbooree,  is  intensely  astringent 
until  quite  ripe.  It  is  about  ij  inches  in  diameter  and  resembles  the 
American  persimmon  in  properties.  W.  Dymock  does  not  give  the 
.name  of  the  species. 
Entada  pusaetha,  local  name  gardul,  is  a  gigantic  climbing  shrub, 
bearing  legumes  three  feet  long  and  4  or  5  inches  wide.  The  seeds, 
called  pilpatre,  are  heart-shaped,  2  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  shining 
brown  testa,  resembling  that  of  the  horse  chestnut,  but  i-i6th  of  an  inch 
in  thickness  ;  cotyledons  white,  taste  insipid,  turns  water  milky.  It  is 
reputed  of  being  emetic.    In  Soonda  the  roasted  seeds  are  eaten. 
The  galls  of  Rhus  succedanea,  called  kakrasinghee,  are  generally  single, 
sometimes  lobed,  of  a  purse-like  form  and  vary  much  in  size.  They 
come  from  Northern  India,  resemble  Chinese  galls  and  have  a  purely 
astringent  taste. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  June  17. 
