144       Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.     { An&5££;  Sjfrm- 
Pohl,  apothecary  at  Paramaribo,  states  that  he  succeeded  in  con- 
verting thymol  into  thymol  carbonate,  a  nearly  tasteless,  colorless, 
crystalline  compound,  varying  but  little  in  its  melting  point  from 
thymol  (thymol,  5o°-5i°;  thymol  carbonate,  490  ;  details  were  not 
given  as  to  how  this  estimation  was  made),  but  considerable  in  its 
boiling-point  (thymol,  2300;  thymol  carbonate,  "over"  4000). 
This  new  remedy  is  not  dissolved  in  the  stomach ;  causes,  there- 
fore, no  dizziness  nor  nausea,  and  is  very  effective  against  those  in- 
testinal pests  where  Ext.  Filix  mas.  cannot  be  taken. 
We  regret  to  state  that  Mr.  Pohl  has  added  to  our  already  un- 
bearable burden  of  new  remedial  names  another  name  ;  has  put  a 
mysterious  shroud  around  it  and  called  the  compound  thymotal, 
wherefore  he  cannot  show  a  good  cause  of  doing  this. 
The  remedy  has  the  usual  support  of  half  a  dozen  doctors. 
J.  B.  Nagelvoort. 
THEOBROMA  CACAO. 
Th.  Peckolt's  "  Medicinal  and  Useful  Plants  of  Brazil,"  which 
appeared  in  the  Berichte  der  deutschen  Pharmaceutische  Gesell- 
schafi,  opens  a  new  chapter  in  botanical  materia  medica,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  articles  will  be  gathered  into  one 
volume. 
From  the  closing  article  the  following  data  on  Theobroma  Cacao 
is  gleaned  : 
The  seeds  were  not  used  by  the  native  Brazilians  until  after  the 
advent  of  the  Europeans,  the  natives  employing  only  the  sweetish 
pulp,  from  which  they  fermented  a  beverage.  Since  the  seeds  were 
used  by  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians  from  primeval  days,  there  is 
evidently  no  ethnological  connection  between  the  west  coast  Indians 
and  those  of  Brazil. 
The  tree  is  considerably  cultivated  at  the  present  time,  for,  by 
reason  of  the  low  price  brought  by  coffee  and  the  expense  of  its 
culture,  many  planters  are  turning  to  cacao,  600  trees  on  a  hectare 
(2.y2  acres)  of  ground  bearing,  after  five  years,  4,500  to  4,800  kilos 
dried  seed  each  year.  The  frequency  of  crop  and  size  of  seed  de- 
pend on  climatic  conditions,  in  hot  places  two  crops  a  year  being 
the  rule.  In  Cantagallo  the  average  fruit  weighed  220  grammes 
and  yielded  27-5  grammes  dried  seed;  while  in  Rio — a  warmer 
place — the  fruit  averaged  330  grammes,  divided  as  follows:  Rind, 
