136  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals,  {  ^'"k^'n^s^o^'™' 
which  is  supposed  to  be  hydroxytoluic  acid.  Dilute  sulphuric  acid  also 
decomposes  teucrin,  when  boiled  with  it,  into  an  acid  and  glucose. — 
Pharm.  Ztg.^  Jan.  3,  1 880,  p.  3,  from  Ga%%.  Chim.  ItaL 
Heracleum  giganteum  hort.,  Pastinaca  sativa,  L.  and  Anthris- 
cus  cerefolinm,  Hoff?n,^  were  analyzed  by  Dr.  Gutzeit,  who  found 
free  ethylic  and  methylic  alcohol  in  the  distilled  waters  of  the  unripe 
fruits,  and  proved  the  existence  of  ethylbutyrate  in  those  portions  of 
heracleum  oil  having  the  lowest  boiling  point,  and  the  certain 
existence  of  solid  hydrocarbons,  belonging  to  the  parffins,  and  having 
the  general  formula  C^H2jj.  The  author  isolated  also  a  new 
crystalline  substance  "  heraclin,"  C32H22OJQ  from  the  unripe  fruits 
of  heracleum  and  pastinaca.  This  heraclin  is  an  odorless  and  taste- 
less substance  containing  no  nitrogen,  melts  at  almost  i85°C.,  and 
crystallizes  from  alcoholic  solutions  in  white,  brilliant,  silky  needles, 
grouped  in  the  shape  of  stars,  gradually  turns  yellow,  does  not  react 
with  litmus-paper,  is  insoluble  in  water,  readily  soluble  in  chloroform, 
difficultly  soluble  in  ether,  soluble  in  1,200  parts  of  cold  and  in  400 
parts  of  boiling  carbon  bisulphuret,  in  700  parts  of  cold  and  in  60 
parts  of  boiling  absolute  alcohol. — Ib'id.^  Nov.  12,  1879,  p.  703,  from 
Sitzungsb.  d.  Jena  Ges.  f.  M.  u.  Nat. 
Pilocarpina. — A.  Poehl  recommends  its  preparation  by  extracting 
jaborandi  leaves  with  hot  water  acidulated  with  i  per  cent,  of  hydro- 
chloric acid,  precipitating  bv  solution  of  lead  subacetate,  concentrating 
the  filtrate,  adding  phospho-molybdic  acid,  washing  the  heavy  floccu- 
lent  precipitate  with  water  acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  drying 
with  baryta  water  on  a  water-bath,  and  extracting  the  pure  alkaloid 
from  the  residue  by  chloroform.  Thus  prepared,  pilocarpina  is  a  soft, 
tough,  colorless  mass,  soluble  in  water,  has  the  formula  C23H3^N404 
(Kingzett),  after  being  dried  at  100°,  is  not  volatile,  and  begins  to  be 
decomposed  at  i8o°C.  The  leaves  appear  to  contain  only  one  alkaloid. 
In  regard  to  the  volatile  oil  of  jaborandi,  Poehl  states  that  the  proper- 
ties of  the  hydrocarbon  pilocarpene^  C^^H^g,  which  distills  over  between 
174°  and  176°  are  so  similar  to  those  of  carvene  of  oil  of  caraway  that 
he  considers  them  to  be  identical. — 7Z'/V.,  1879,  p.  718. 
Duboisinic  Acid  and  Piturina,  from  Pitury — the  dried  branches 
and  leaves  of  Duboisia  Hopwoodii.  F.  von  Mueller  and  L.  Rummel 
isolated  duboisinic  acid  in  colorless  rhombic  prisms  and  tabular  crystals, 
having  a  slightly  acid  reaction  and  a  slightly  bitter  taste,  and  being  solu- 
ble in  water  and  alcohol.    They  obtained  also  i  per  cent,  of  an  alka- 
