470  VARIETIES. 
The  sulphate  of  ammonia  is,  in  its  turn,  decomposed  by  means  of  common 
salt,  the  result  being  the  formation  of  sulphate  of  soda  and  chloride  of 
ammonium,  which  can  again  be  converted  into  carbonate  of  ammonia  by 
means  of  chalk. —  Chem.  News,  July  8,  1870.  , 
Jewish  Physicians  in  Rome.  Although  Roman  history  mentions  a 
large  number  of  celebrated  Hebrew  physicians,  who  attended  former  Popes 
in  cases  of  severe  sickness,  and  although  Leo  X's  body  physician  was  a 
Jew,  the  practice  of  medicine  is  at  the  present  time  allowed  to  Jews  only 
on  the  condition  that  they  confine  themselves  to  members  of  their  own 
religion.  A  Hebrew  doctor,  who,  two  years  ago,  attended  to  a  Catholic 
who  had  fainted  in  the  street,  and  visited  him  at  his  special  request,  at 
his  home,  escaped  punishment  only  through  the  intercession  of  some  in- 
fluential persons.  The  practice  of  pharmacy  in  Rome  is  absolutely  pro- 
hibited to  Jews. — Pharm.  Zeitung. 
Female  Students.  The  University  of  Zurich,  Switzerland,  has  now  14 
female  students,  12  of  whom  have  matriculated  in  the  medical  and  2  in 
the  philosophical  department.  The  rectorate  of  this  university  say,  that 
the  presence  of  females  in  the  theoretical  and  practical  courses  has  cre- 
ated no  difficulty  whatever.  Lectures  and  demonstrations  are  given 
without  regard  to  the  presence  of  ladies,  also  the  ^anatomical  exercises 
and  clinical  exhibitions.  With  an  experience  of  six  years,  the  faculty 
look  calmly  forward  to  the  solution  of  this  question.  The  faculty  are, 
however,  of  the  opinion,  that  for  the  result  thus  far  obtained,  the  deter- 
mined love  of  labor  and  the  genteel  behaviour  of  the  lady  students,  also 
the  political  status  and  the  serenity  of  the  Swiss  students,  is  to  be  taken 
into  account. — Pharm.  Zeitung,  Bunzlau,  N.  43. 
Wliite  Cinchona  Bark  from  Payta.  0.  Hesse.  The  author  found  that 
this  bark  contains,  beside  paytin,  so  large  a  quantity  of  starch  that  the 
bark  might  be  used  as  a  fermentable  and  distillable  alcohol-producing 
material.  The  paytin  is  a  new  alkaloid,  readily  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether, 
benzine,  and  chloroform  ;  difficultly  soluble  in  water,  in  potassa  solution, 
and  ammonia;  it  fuses  at  156^^,  combines  with  acids,  forming  salts  and 
double  salts.  The  formula  of  paytin  is  (J21H24N2O. —  Chem.  News,  Aug. 
12,  1870. 
On  Agoniada  and  Agonidine.  Dr.  P.  Peckolt.  The  author  has  ex- 
tracted from  the  agonia  bark  [Plumeria  lancifoUa),  a  tree  indigenous  to 
the  Brazils,  the  bark  being  largely  used  in  that  country  as  febrifuge,  a 
substance  which  he  calls  agonidine,  a  crystalline  matter,  devoid  of  smell, 
of  a  very  bitter  taste,  difficultly  soluble  in  ether,  but  more  readily  so  in 
boiling  alcohol  and  boiling  water,  does  not  sublime  on  being  heated,  is 
soluble,  also,  in  solution  of  caustic  potassa ;  in  ammonia  and  in  concen- 
