2  04  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  { '^'"xiXisso^''"'* 
they  contain  no,  or  very  little,  pilocarpina,  the  active  principle.  The 
leaves  of  a  plant  belonging  to  nat.  ord.  Piperaceae,  probably  Piper 
laetum,  appear  in  the  market  as  Brazilian  jaborandi.  Budee  endeavored, 
but  was  not  able,  to  isolate  an  alkaloid  from  this  plant.  Those  leaves 
of  Pernambuco  jaborandi,  the  lower  side  of  which  is  hairy,  are  more 
efficacious,  /.  contain  more  alkaloid,  than  those  that  are  not.  The 
percentage  of  impure  alkaloid  amounts  to  almost  i  per  cent,  of  the 
leaves,  and  the  percentage  of  the  pure  nitrates  obtainable  varies  between 
0*3  and  0*7  per  cent. 
Pure  pilocarpina  is  a  thick,  oily,  light  yellow  liquid ;  the  nitrate  is 
white  and  light;  the  chloride  deliq-iesces  and  decomposes  readily. 
Pilocarpus  pinnatifolius  grows  in  Brazil,  principally  in  the  provinces 
of  Alattogrosso,  Piauha,  Ceara  and  St.  Paulo.  P.  selloanus  is  indigen- 
ous to  Southern  Brazil  and  Paraguay,  and  principally  enters  commerce 
by  way  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Piper  laetum  also  grows  in  Brazil,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. — Archly  d.  Pharm.^  Jan.,  1880,  p.  1427. 
Adulterated  Fennel. — During  the  past  winter  much  of  the  fennel 
met  with  in  the  German  market  was  adulterated  with  previously- 
extracted  fennel.  On  account  of  the  unfavorable  weather  but  little 
fennel  of  handsome  appearance  was  harvested,  and  as  most  of  it  pos- 
sesses such  a  poor  color  the  addition  of  previously-extracted  fruit  is  apt 
to  escape  observation. — Pharm.  Ztg.^  Feb.  7,  1880,  p.  80. 
Volatile  Alkaloid  in  Aethusa  Cynapium. — By  distilling  the  con 
tused  fruit  of  this  plant  with  milk  of  lime,  W.  Bernhardt  obtained  a 
reddish-yellow  liquid,  floating  like  oil  on  the  aqueous  distillate.  Both 
this  oily  liquid  in  alcoholic  solution  and  the  aqueous  distillate  possessed 
a  strongly  alkaline  reaction,  and  an  exceedingly  penetrating,  offen- 
sive odor,  resembling  the  odor  of  rancid  fish  oil.  The  author  con- 
siders the  oily  substance  a  volatile  alkaloid,  the  formation  of  which  is 
analogous  to  that  of  trimethylamin  from  Chenopodium  vulvaria,  when 
treated  similarly.     He  intends  to  further  investigate  its  nature. 
Ficinus  first  discovered  this  alkaloid,  called  it  "Cynapin,"  and 
alleges  to  have  obtained  it  in  crystals,  while  Walz  described  an  alka- 
loid very  similar  to  that  found  by  Bernhardt. — Jrchiv  d.  Pharm. ^  Feb., 
1880,  p.  117. 
Coloring  Matters  of  Grapes  and  of  Huckleberries  (Vaccinium 
myrtillus^  Lin.). — The  extensive  investigations  made  by  A.  Andree 
:show  that : 
I.  The  natural  blue  coloring  matter  of  grapes  never  varies. 
