PHARMACEUTICAL  GLEANINGS. 
221 
which  was  with  difficulty  removed.  Simply  handling  the  plas- 
ter was  enough  to  produce  the  same  reaction  with  the  mineral 
water  on  the  fingers.  This  fact  suggests  that  lead  poisoning 
may  occur  by  the  external  application  of  lead  in  this  form.  At 
the  request  of  M.  de  Mussey,  M.  Boileau,  Jr.,  of  Luchon,  in  the 
Pyrenees,  made  some  "  zinc  plaster  "  by  precipitating  white  soap 
in  solution  with  sulphate  of  zinc,  and  afterwards  adding  to  the 
dried  precipitate,  resin,  etc.,  as  in  diachylon.  Its  efficacy  as  a 
substitute  for  lead  piaster  has  been  tested  affirmatively. 
Diabetic  Sugar  secreted  most  abundantly  after  Meals. — • 
M.  Baudrimont,  (Journ.  de  Chimie  Med.  Fevrier,  1856)  in  making 
a  series  of  experiments  on  the  urine  of  a  diabetic  patient,  found 
that  a  litre  (two  and  one-ninth  pints,  of  urine  voided  two  or  three 
hours  after  dinner,  yielded  as  much  as  three  per  cent.  (483  grains) 
of  glucose,  whilst  that  tested  on  the  following  morning  yielded  but 
a  trace.  He  therefore  suggests  that  experiments  made  with  a 
view  to  the  presence  of  diabetic  sugar  should  apply  to  the  for- 
mer period,  and  not,  as  is  too  frequently  the  case,  to  that  obtained 
in  the  morning. 
Action  of  Sugar  on  the  Teeth  M.  Larez,  (Journ.  de  Chimie 
Med.  Feb.  1856)  in  a  course  of  investigation,  arrived  at  the  fol- 
lowing conclusions,  viz.— 
1.  Refined  sugar,  from  either  cane  or  beets,  is  injurious  to 
healthy  teeth,  either  by  immediate  contact  with  these  organs 
or  by  the  gaz  developed,  owing  to  its  stoppage  in  the  stomach. 
2.  If  a  tooth  is  macerated  in  a  saturated  solution  of  sugar, 
it  is  so  much  altered  in  its  chemical  composition  that  it  becomes 
gelatinous,  and  its  enamel  opaque,  ipongy,  and  easily  broken. 
3.  This  modification  is  due,  not  to  free  acid,  but  to  a  tenden- 
cy of  sugar  to  combine  with  the  calcareous  basis  of  the  tooth. 
Preservation  of  Vaccine  Virus  in  a  liquid  state. — Dr.  Mau- 
rin  (Journ.  de  Chimie  Med.  Mars,  1856)  says  that  glasses  charged 
with  the  recent  virus  can  be  transported  to  great  distances,  and 
the  virus  preserved  fit  for  use  without  moistening,  by  envelop- 
ing the  glasses  containing  it  in  some  fresh  beet  leaves,  being 
careful  to  renew  these  leaves  when  they  commence  to  fade  or 
decay,  say  every  8  or  10  days.  Dr.  Maurin  has  used  vaccine 
matter  thus  preserved  for  more  than  a  month,  with  the  best  re- 
sults. 
Eau  Sedative  de  RaspaiL— -This  lotion  is  occasionally  pres- 
