Amseptur^76.rm"}  Gleanings  from  the  Foreign  Journals,  415 
A  New  Acid  in  Mare's  Milk  has  been  discovered  by  Dr.  Duval,, 
which  is  not  found  in  the  milk  of  ruminants,  at  least  not  in  appreciable 
quantity.  It  crystallizes  in  scale  like  needles,  is  not  volatile  without 
decomposition,  has  a  pungent  odor  and  a  peculiar  taste.  It  is  combined 
in  the  milk  with  a  volatile  base  which  evaporates  on  being  heated.  It 
has  been  named  equinic  acid. — Cbem.  Centra  IbL 
Preparation  of  Pure  Grape  Sugar. — For  this  purpose  C.  Neubauer 
recommends  the  process  of  Schwarz  (1872).  500  to  600  cc.  of  80  per 
cent,  alcohol  are  mixed  with  30  to  40  cc.  of  fuming  muriatic  acid,  and 
powdered  cane  sugar,  is  dissolved  in  this  mixture  to  saturation.  Large 
quantities  of  grape  sugar  crystallize  on  standing  in  wart-like  masses^, 
which  merely  require  washing  with  alcohol  and  recrystallization  from 
boiling  absolute  alcohol.  The  acid  mother  liquor  may  be  again  saturated 
with  cane  sugar  and  used  as  before. — Zeitschr.  Anal.  Chem. 
Impure  Persian  Opium. — Barnard  Proctor  recently  analyzed  a  sample 
of  Persian  opium  from  which  he  obtained  only  0*25  per  cent,  of 
morphia. —  Phar.  four,  and  Trans.,  June  24. 
On  the  Action  of  Sulphuretted  Hydrogen  upon  Alkaloids. — E.  Schmidt 
observed  (1875)  that  an  alcoholic  solution  of  strychnia,  after  saturation 
with  H2S  and  exposure  to  the  air  separates  orange-red  crystals,  which 
were  found  to  be  2C21H22N202,  3H2S2,  and  from  which  mineral  acids 
separated  a  heavy  oily  body  (most  likely  H2S2)  evolving  H2S2  in  a  few 
days. 
Under  the  same  circumstances  brucia  yields  yellow  needles,  having 
the  composition  C23H26N204,H2S2,  and  by  a  slight  modification,  ruby 
red  crystals  containing  an  additional  molecule  of  H2S2. 
Quinia,cinchonia,  cinchonidia,  quinidia,  morphia,  codeia,  papaverina, 
narcotia,  thebaina,  atropia,  veratria,  conia  and  nicotia  acquire  under  sim- 
ilar circumstances  an  intense  yellow  coloration  ;  but  well  characterized 
compounds  have  as  yet  not  been  obtained.  Coffeina  and  theobromina 
appear  not  to  be  affected  by  this  treatment. — Archiv  d.  Phar.,  June, 
478"496-  
NOTE  ON  SO-CALLED  WOOD  OIL. 
BY  PROF.  F.  A.  FLiiCKIGER. 
In  a  note  communicated  to  the  "Archiv  der  Pharmacie,"  for  May,, 
the  author  states  that  he  has  found  that  the  etherial  oil  of  Dipterocar- 
pus  balsam,  known  as  Gurgun  balsam  or  wood  oil,  when  dissolved  in 
