126        GLEANINGS— CHEMICAL,    PHARMACEUTICAL,  ETC. 
poisoned  have  been  left  to  putrefy,  some  sulphuret  of  arsenic  is 
formed  at  the  expense  of  the  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and  this,  as 
is  well  known,  escapes  detection  by  Marsh's  apparatus.  Sulphu- 
ret of  arsenic  also  forms  when  the  suspected  matters  are  car- 
bonized by  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  after  the  process  of 
Flandin  and  Danger.  The  arsenic  may  be  extracted  by  wash- 
ing the  carbonized  mass  with  ammonia,  which  dissolves  the 
sulphuret.  Then  the  sulphuret  may  be  converted  into  arsenic 
acid  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid,  and  the  solution  thus  obtained 
be  tested  in  Marsh's  apparatus.  (Nickles). 
New  Antiperiodic.— -Dr.  R.  S.  Cauthorn,  of  Richmond,  Va., 
gives  an  account  of  the  root  of  Apocynum  Cannabinum,  as 
a  powerful  antiperiodic.  This  power  of  the  root  was  discovered 
by  an  herb  doctor,  by  the  name  of  Ragland,  and  the  medicine 
is  called  "  Dr.  Ragland's  Root  of  Man"  by  the  people  who  had 
used  it.  About  six  grains  of  the  root  is  administered  in  the  form 
of  powder  or  pills,  preceded  in  cases  of  ague  by  a  dose  of  calo- 
mel. Dr.  Cauthorn  expresses  much  confidence  in  the  virtue  of 
the  Apocynum  Cannabinum,  and  he  may  be  correct  in  his  infer- 
ences ;  but  as  his  own  observations  were  only  extended  to  six 
cases  it  may  be  well  to  get  further  information  before  admitting 
it  to  the  rank  claimed  for  it  by  Dr.  Cauthorn,  which  can  read- 
ily be  effected,  as  the  plant  is  found  all  over  the  Middle  States  
Richmond  Stethoscope. 
New  Febrifuge.  Azderach  Bark. — Dr.  W.  R.  Cornish,  of 
the  Bengal  army,  (Indian  Annals  of  Medical  Science,  Oct.  1856,) 
states  that  the  Margosa  or  Neem  tree  has  long  enjoyed  a  con- 
siderable reputation  in  India  as  a  febrifuge,  and  that  it  belongs 
to  the  natural  order  Meliacese  and  genus  "  Azadirachta."  It 
is  probably  the  Melia  Azederach  of  our  Pharmacopoeia,  and 
which  under  the  name  of  Pride  of  India  is  so  extensively  em- 
ployed as  a  shade  and  ornamental  tree  in  the  Southern  States. 
Here  the  bark  is  used  as  a  vermifuge.  Dr.  C.  describes  the 
bark  as  being  nearly  white  internally  and  purple  externally. 
When  chewed,  in  its  recent  state,  its  taste  is  at  first  sweetish, 
followed  quickly  by  a  powerful  and  lasting  bitter.  Dr.  C.  em- 
ployed the  bark  during  six  months  with  nearly  all  the  fever  pa- 
tients that  came  under  his  care,  in  the  form  of  decoction,  (the 
