Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
May,  1875.  ; 
Varieties. 
225 
each  occasion  3  per  cent,  of  urea.  In  the  case  of  another  specimen, 
in  two  experiments  the  percentages  of  urea  were  3*0  and  3*1. 
By  using  a  longer  and  narrower  measuring  tube,  which  would  admit 
of  finer  subdivision,  and  by  making  the  necessary  corrections  in  the 
volume  of  the  gas  for  temperature,  pressure,  and  the  tension  of  aque- 
ous vapor,  strictly  accurate  results  could,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  obtained. 
It  should,  however,  be  recollected  that  the  instrument  is  not  intended 
to  yield  results  of  theoretic  accuracy,  and  that  in  its  present  form  the 
urea  is  estimated  with  sufficient  precision  for  medical  purposes. — Chem. 
News^  Jan.  22,  1875. 
VARIETIES. 
MUCILAGE  FOR  MINERALS,  ETC. 
Geological  Museum,  Princton,  N.  J.,  April  i9_th,  1875. 
Editor  American  jfournal  of  Pharjnacy  : 
My  friend,  Prof  R.  P  Whitfield,  Palasontologist,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  was  good 
enough  to  give  me  the  following  recipe  for  mucilage  to  mend  fossils  and  minerals, 
and,  after  several  months  of  experience  with  it  in  the  Museum,  I  find  it  so  valuable 
that,  with  his  permission,  I  send  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  readers  of  your  journal  : 
Take  of  Starch,    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ^ii 
White  Sugar,  .  .  .  .  .  -5^ 
Gum  Arabic,    ......  ^ii 
Water  enough. 
Dissolve  the  gum,  add  sugar,  and  boil  until  the  starch  is  cooked. 
Prof.  Whitfield  is  in  the  habit  of  drying  it  into  sheets,  on  paper,  and  redissolving 
when  wanted.  He  does  not  claim  to  have  originated  the  recipe  ;  but  thinks  it  is 
one  of  the  compositions  offered  to  the  U.  S.  Government  for  gumming  stamps. 
It  is  certainly  a  very  adhesive  mucilage,  and,  owing  to  the  sugar,  never  becomes 
brittle ;  so  that  it  never  scales  off,  as  most  glues  do,  from  stones  or  other  hard  sub- 
stances.   In  a  geological  cabinet,  it  is  simply  invaluable. 
Very  truly.  Franklin  C.  Hill,  P/^r.G, 
Toothache. — Dr.  G.  C.  Smith  praises  the  following  most  highly:  Take  of  car- 
bolic acid,  saturated  solution  ;  chloral  hydrate,  saturated  solution  j  paregoric,  fluid 
extract  of  aconite — of  each  one  ounce  ;  oil  of  peppermint,  half  an  ounce  j  saturate 
the  pledget  of  cotton,  or  a  piece  of  sponge,  and  tightly  pack  into  the  cavity. — 
Charleston  Med.  Jour.^  April ^  from  Lond.  Med.  Record. 
The  Physiological  Action  of  Thebaina. — Dr.  J.  Ott,  of  Easton,  Pa.,  from 
his  physiological  experiments  made  with  thebaina  prepared  by  Merck,  arrives  at  the 
following  conclusions  : 
1.  Thebaina  is  a  tetanoid  agent,  and  pigeons  have  no  special  immunity  against  it. 
2.  The  tetanus  is  not  cerebral,  but  spinal  in  origin. 
3.  The  motor  and  sensory  nerves,  and  the  striated  muscles  are  not  aft'ected  by  it. 
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