274 
Practical  Notes. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      May,  1883. 
are  stirred  iii^  the  mixture  is  allowed  to  cool,  an  equal  volume  (about 
60  to  70  parts)  of  ether  is  added  and  this  mixture  passed  through  a 
covered  plaited  filter,  the  residue  is  washed  with  a  little  ether  and  the 
filtrate  is  either  distilled  to  recover  the  ether,  or  evaporated  spontane- 
ously, and  finally  by  the  aid  of  a  water  bath  until  the  odor  of  ether 
has  disappeared.  Good  storax  yields  70  to  75  per  ct.  of  purified  pro- 
duct. This  process  is  also  much  to  be  preferred  to  the  purification 
with  hot  alcohol— Phar.  Zeituvcj,  1883,  No.  22. 
Syrup  IAS  dolutanuH. — Malenfant  gives  the  following  process  as  yield- 
ing the  best  results  :  The  white  of  one  egg  is  well  beaten  and  mixed 
with  1000  gm.  of  water  and  250  gm.  of  tincture  of  tolu.  This  mix- 
ture is  added  to  a  mixture  of  10  kilos  of  granulated  sugar  and  5  kilos 
of  water,  and  the  whole  then  rapidly  heated  to  boiling,  without  remov- 
ing^the  scum;  finally,  when  clear,  the  syrup  is  strained  or  filtered. — 
Rundschau,  1883,  W.  7,  from  Jour,  de  Phar.  et  de  CJiim. 
Lwpidin  '  and  Camphor  are  not  readily  made  into  a  plastic  mass  by 
excipients  without  increasing  the  size  of  pills  very  considerably.  But 
with  the  addition  of  a  small  cpiantity  of  ether,  a  very  serviceable  mass 
is  obtained,  which  Avithout  any  other  addition  may  be  made  into  very 
small  pills.  Such  pills  should  be  made  in  moderate  quantities  only, 
sufficient  to  last  about  a  week. — Ibid.,  W.  10. 
For  Mashing  the  odor  of  Musi',  Prof.  Wiesenthal  uses  hydrochlo- 
ride or  sulphate  of  quinine,  Avhereby  the  musk  becomes  inodorous. 
For  removing  the  penetrating  musk  odor  from  the  hands,  it  is  sufficient 
to  put  a  little  quinine  in  the  palm  of  the  hand,  moisten  it  with  acidu- 
lated water  and  rubbing  the  hands. — Phar.  Post,  1883,  p.  73. 
Vanadium  Ink. — Vanadium  tannate  was  proposed  for  use  as  writing 
ink  by  Berzelius,  because  the  Avriting  is  not  affected  by  acids,  but  the 
high  price  of  vanadium  salts  was  a  great  obstacle  to  its  introduction. 
Since  these  salts  have  been  more  largely  prepared  for  use  in  the  manu- 
facture of  anilin  black  and  other  dyes,  vanadium  ink  is  again  proposed. 
Dr.  Siemens  gives  the  folloAving  formula :  Tannin  10  gm.,  ammonium 
vanadate  0*2  gm.,  water  200  gm.,  and  gum  arable  6  gm.  Boettger 
proposed  pyrogallic  acid  and  ammonium  vanadate,  which  yields  a  blue- 
black  liquid  free  from  any  precipitate,  as  a  good  ink ;  however.  Dr. 
E.  Geissler  found  the  writing  with  this  ink  to  change  to  yellowish 
broAvn  in  a  short  time.  Extract  of  logAvood  and  ammonium  vanadate 
vield  likewise  an  excellent  ink. — Phar.  Centralh.,  1883,  p.  148. 
