Am0cturimarm'}      Scientific  and  Technical  Abstracts  731 
taken  as  a  general  rule,  however,  that  about  80  parts  of  the  prin- 
cipal constituent  require  12  parts  of  sulphur  (or  less  if  other  sulphur 
compounds  be  present)  ;  4  to  5  parts  of  starch,  2  to  4  parts  of  lithium 
*  carbonate,  and  0.01  to  0.5  part  of  other  metallic  compounds.  Those 
constituents,  which  are  used  only  in  very  small  amounts,  are  best 
added  in  alcoholic  solution.  The  mixtures  are  heated  in  a  hermeti- 
cally sealed  crucible  for  three-quarters  to  one  hour  at  a  temperature 
of  about  12000  C.  Phosphorescent  pigments  are,  when' used,  often 
mixed  with  barium  sulphate,  lakes  of  natural  coloring  matters,,  and 
often  with  mineral  pigments  of  the  same  shade  as  the  prosphores- 
cent  body  itself.  Thus,  for  example,  realgar  is  used  with  red  shades 
and  orpiment  with  yellow  shades. — O.  Prager  (Chem.  Tech.  Fabri- 
kant,  through  Chem.  Trade  Journ.,  August  6,  192 1,  158). 
Alkaloids  of  Valerian. — Goris  and  Vischniac  (Re pert,  de 
Pharm.,  June  6,  1921)  extracted  5  kilos,  of  an  aqueous  extract  of 
valerian,  representing  40  kilos,  of  fresh  root,  with  a  10  per  cent, 
solution  of  sodium  carbonate,  treating  the  liquid  with  a  mixture  of 
ether  and  chloroform,  then  with  water  containing  2  per  cent,  of 
hydrochloric  acid,  finally  saturating  this  solution  with  carbonate  of 
potassium,  and  successively  extracting  with  ether  and  with  chloro- 
form. They  succeeded  in  obtaining  4  gm.  of  crude  bases,  from  which 
they  were  able  to  separate  3  gm.  of  chantinine  and  1  gm.  of  valer- 
ine.  The  former  is  difficult  to  obtain  in  a  crystalline  form,  except 
as  the  picrate,  which  melts  at  97 0  to  98°.  Animal  experiments  showed 
that  these  two  alkaloids  have  practically  no  physiological  action ;  the 
therapeutic  properties  of  valerian  are  therefore  not  due  to  these  two 
bodies. — Through  the  Chemist  &  Druggist. 
Saccharin  Reaction. — L.  Thevenon,  a  pharmacist  in  Oullins, 
describes  a  new  reaction  of  saccharin  (Jour.  Pharm.  Chim.,  No.  11, 
1920).  On  adding  10  cc.  of  a  solution  of  0.1  gram  of  sodium  ni- 
trite in  100  cc.  of  distilled  water,  and  six  drops  of  sulphuric  acid 
(1/3),  to  a  solution  containing  0.1  gram  of  saccharin  in  25  cc.  of 
distilled  water,  the  further  addition  of  0.1  gram  of  beta-naphthol  to 
the  mixture  causes  the  immediate  production  of  an  intense  red 
coloration,  which  may  be  fixed  to  wool  and  silk,  and  is  permanent. 
