'^'^BlT.lys:'"-}      Selections  from  Banish  Journals.  53  5 
and  an  ornament  of  the  oriental  gardens.  The  excellent  fruit  of  this 
tree  resembles  a  large  strawberry,  and  is  collected  by  the  poor  and  sold 
during  the  winter  ;  it  has  a  pleasant  taste,  but  in  large  quantities  is  apt 
to  produce  indigestion.  Plinius  says  of  it  :  Vnedo  unu?n  fructum  edas. 
Arhutus  sive  unedo  fructum  fiat  difficile  concoctio?iis. 
In  some  parts  of  the  country  a  spirituous  liquor,  called  Faki^  is  ob- 
tained from  the  fruit  by  fermentation. 
Laurus  nohilis  was,  in  ancient  times,  consecrated  to  Apollo,  hence  it 
is  called  Laurus  Apollonis.  This  handsome  tree  is  met  with  in  the  forests 
of  Greece,  and  is  extensively  cultivated  in  the  gardens  of  cloisters. 
The  seed  of  this  tree  resembles  the  seed  of  the  olive,  known 
here  by  the  name  of  daphnekoukou^  after  the  name  of  the  tree  AdipvYj. 
The  seeds  could  be  utilized  for  obtaining  the  highly  aromatic  fixed  oil, 
which  I  have  often  expressed  and  consider  more  aromatic  than  the 
same  oil  obtained  from  other  localities.  It  seems  as  if  in  warmer 
climates  the  aromatic  principles  of  plants  were  more  profusely  de- 
veloped, like  the  bitter  and  astringent  principles  in  colder  regions. 
Solanum  lycopersicum^  the  tomato,  is  one  of  the  most  useful  plants  in 
the  orient,  where  it  is  raised  in  every  garden  and  the  fruit  eaten  by 
rich  and  poor,  the  agreeable  color  and  pleasant  flavor  which  it  imparts 
to  other  dishes  being  well  liked.  By  expressing  the  juice  and  concen- 
trating it  by  evaporation  in  the  sun,  it  may  be  preserved  for  a  year,  and 
when  dried  in  ovens  it  will  keep  well  for  several  years.  The  fruit  is 
frequently  salted,  and  may  then  be  transported.  It  is  also  employed 
medicinally,  the  pulp,  called  domata^  being  considered  of  utility  in 
gravel  and  against  chronic  rheumatism^ 
SELECTIONS  FROM  DANISH  JOURNALS. 
BY   HANS   M.  WILDER. 
I.  Syrupus  Arseniatis  Ferrosus,  By  H.  P.  Madsen. — Having  seen  a 
circular  from  Clermont,  a  French  Pharmacist,  recommending  a  syrup 
containmg  ferrous  arseniate  in  solution,  Madsen  attempted  its  prepara- 
tion. 
If  a  solution  of  ferrous  sulphate  is  added  to  one  of  sodic  arseniate,  a 
white  precipitate  of  ferrous  arseniate  is  formed,  which  soon,  however, 
turns  dirty  gray,  and  is  transformed  into  basic  ferric  arseniate  ;  when 
dry,  the  color  is  grayish-green. 
Madsen  found  that  a  solution  is  easily  effected  if  citric  acid  be  added 
