PHARMACEUTICAL  GLEANINGS. 
Ill 
mulberry  bombyx  in  fineness,  but  is  remarkably  strong,  and  is 
used  habitually  in  India  by  the  poorer  classes. 
The  worm  is  very  productive  ;  it  grows  so  rapidly  that  six  or 
seven  crops  are  obtained  annually,  and  the  plant  on  which  it 
feeds  is  easily  cultivated.  It  is  proposed  to  cultivate  it  in  the 
south  of  France  and  in  Algeria. 
Substitute  for  Quinine. — A  physician  at  Martinique  has  dis- 
covered a  tree,  the  bark  of  which  affords  an  alkaloid  as  valuable 
as  quinine  in  curing  fevers.  The  subject  is  under  consideration 
of  the  French  government. — Lancet,  Jan.,  1855, awe?  Med.  News. 
Aldehyde  in  Vinegar,  distilled  Vinegar,  Wine  and  Brandy. — 
M.  Lahens,  pharmacien  of  Toulouse,  (Journ.  de  Pharm.  Janv. 
1855,)  in  experimenting  on  the  presence  of  glucose  withBarres- 
wil's  test  was  led  to  examine  into  the  cause  of  a  reaction  that  puz- 
zled him,  which  led  the  detection  of  aldehyde  in  several  liquids. 
His  conclusions  are, 
1.  That  wine,  brandy,  vinegar,  and  distilled  vinegar  contain 
aldehyde. 
2.  That  the  aldehyde  in  brandy  and  distilled  vinegar  are 
derived  from  the  fermented  liquids  from  which  they  are  distilled. 
3.  That  crystallizable  acetic  acid,  pyroligneous  acid  and  alco- 
hol of  36°  do  not  contain  aldehyde,  owing,  in  the  first  two  in- 
stances to  the  nature  of  the  process  that  yields  them,  and  in 
commercial  alcohol  to  the  fact  that  all  the  acetic  acid  and  alde- 
hyde in  the  crude  liquid  are  condensed  before  the  alcoholic  va- 
por arrives  at  the  point  for  its  condensation. 
4.  The  absence  of  aldehyde  from  brandy  indicates  that  it  is 
artificial. 
New  test  for  Sugar  in  Diabetic  Urine.  ^-Mr.  John  Horsley 
has  published  in  the  Chemist  a  new  method  of  detecting  sugar  in 
urine.  A  freely  alkaline  solution  of  yellow  chromate  of  potassa  is 
mixed  with  the  urine  and  boiled.  If  sugar  be  present,  the  color 
will  change  to  a  deep  sap-green 'color,  owing  to  the  reduction  of 
the  chromic  acid  to  oxide  of  chromium.  The  test  is  so  sensitive 
that  five  or  six  drops  of  ordinary  diabetic  urine  will  give  the  indi- 
cation ;  which  is  more  sensitive  than  either  Moore's  or  Trommer's 
test. 
The  author  does  not  state  whether  there  is  any  other  body 
but  sugar,  that  may  occur  abnormally  in  the  urine,  that  will  react 
with  chromic  acid. 
