Am.  Jour.  Pharm  I 
Oct.,  1875.  ; 
Varieties. 
^13 
a  hydrate,  and  therefore  they  cannot  be  present  as  such  unaltered.  There  remain 
but  two  facts  which  are  in  favor  of  the  theory,  namely,  that  the  crystals  have  a  much 
fainter  smell  of  chlorine,  considering  the  large  amount  present,  than  saturated 
chlorine-water  5  but  this  may  be  due  to  the  low  tension  of  the  chlorine  present. 
Lastly,  the  crystals  are  but  very  faintly  colored  5  this,  supposing  that  water  Is  present 
as  crystalline  water,  is  as  yet  inexplicable. 
— Jour.  Chem.  Soc  ,  Aug.  1875,  from  Deut.  Chem.  Ges.  £er.,  viii,  419 — 421. 
Weighing  Opium. — A  correspondent  in  Smyrna  has  kindly  furnished  a  sketch, 
showing  the  primitive  manner  in  which  opium  is  weighed  there.  This  we  have  had 
engraved,  thinking  that  it  might  be  of  interest  to  our  members.  It  shows  the  form 
oi' the  Cantar,'''  or  steelyards,  which  is  suspended  from  a  pole,  resting  on  the 
shoulders  of  two  porters. 
Any  movement  of  either  of  these  porters,  at  the  moment  of  weighing,  will  alter  it, 
and,  therefore,  the  greatest  care  is  necessary.  The  "  Cantar  is  divided  by  notches 
on  the  upper  angle,  Into  Okes  and  fractions  of  Okes  of  Constantinople. 
Regarding  the  weight  of  a  Chequi,  I  have  to  Inform  you  that  there  is  no  such 
actual  weight  5  it  is  only  a  nominal  weight  arrived  at  by  calculation,  [Note. — In 
quoting  Opium,  say  for  example — 1 30  p.,  we  mean   130  Piasters  })er  Chequi,  fo 
