628 
Varieties. 
Am,  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1880. 
property  which  was  promptly  and  extensively  availed  of  by  the  Sze- 
chuen  traders.  The  period  between  evening  and  morning  is  chosen 
for  conveyance,  because  many  hours  of  sunlight  would  precipitate  the 
hatching.  This  should  take  place  only  after  the  females  have  been 
attached  to  the  trees.  Arrived  at  their  destination,  six  or  more  of  the 
mothers — which  are  enourmously  prolific — are  tied,  wrapped  in  a  palm 
leaf,  to  a  branch  of  the  ligustrum.  A  few  days  later  the  young  flies 
are  swarming  on  the  twigs,  where  they  fulfill  their  mission  by  the 
month  of  August ;  then  they  perish  in  the  cauldrons,  where  the  results 
are  immediately  collected.  It  is  stated  that  this  peculiar  industry 
requires  the  exercise  of  great  care  and  forethought." — Pharm.  your, 
and  Trans.^  October  16,  1880. 
VARIETIES. 
A  Digestive  Ferment  of  the  Juice  of  the  Fig-Tree. — The  milky  juice,  which 
is  found  in  small  quantity  in  the  common  fig  tree,  was  collected  in  Provence  in  the 
month  of  April.  5  grams  of  the  partially  coagulated  substance,  consisting  of  a 
syrupy  liquid,  and  a  v\hite,  sticky,  resinous,  elastic,  aromatic  coagulum  were  mixed 
with  60  grams  distilled  water,  10  grams  of  moist  fibrin  added,  and  the  mixture  kept 
at  a  temperature  of  50°.  In  less  than  24  hours  the  fibrin  was  completely  digested,, 
leaving  a  small  quantity  of  white,  hoiriogeneous  residue.  A  further  quantity  of 
10  grams,  then  12,  then  15,  in  all  90  grams  of  fibrin  were  added  in  the  course  of  a 
month.  Each  successive  quantity  was  completely  digested  in  24  hours,  and  each 
left  a  white  residue,  the  composition  of  which  has  not  been  determined.  The  liquid 
showed  no  signs  of  fermentation  or  putrefaction. — Jour.  Chem.  Soc.  October,  1880. 
Comptes  Rendus. 
Oxalic  Acid  in  Beet  Leaves. — Investigations  made  by  A.  Miiller  show  that  the 
fresh  leaves  of  the  sugar-beet  contain  4  per  cent,  oxalic  acid,  of  which  one-third  is 
in  a  soluble  form.  When  it  is  considered  how  great  are  the  quantities  of  these 
leaves  eaten  by  cattle  in  countries  where  the  beet  root  sugar  industry  is  large,  it 
behoves  farmers  to  be  on  their  guard,  as  the  acid  induces  inflammation  of  the 
mucous  coats  of  the  stomach.  The  pickling  of  the  leaves  with  chalk  is  likely  to 
prevent  this  unpleasantness,  the  soluble  acid  being  converted  into  calcium  oxalate, 
which  is  insoluble  in  the  weak  acids  of  the  stomach. — Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  October,. 
1880,  p.  733.   
Pilocarpin  as  an  Antidote  to  Atropin.— Dr.  Purjesz,  of  Buda-Pest,  relates  in 
the  "  Centralbl.  fur  Prakt.  Augenheilk.""  the  case  of  a  patient,  aged  19,  who  took,  for 
medical  purpose,  a  water  solution  of  nearly  two  grains  and  a-half  of  sulphate  of 
atropin.  When  the  patient  was  seen  by  him,  an  hour  afterwards,  the  symptoms  of 
poisoning  were  very  severe.    He  at  once  atministered,  by  subcutaneous  injection. 
