Am'Fe0bUJS2.arm■}  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  81 
sprays  them  with  ether,  and  places  them  in  a  tightly  stoppered 
glass  container  which  has  been  rinsed  with  ether,  and  is  then  kept 
in  a  dark  and  cool  place.  This  plan  has  been  found  very  satisfac- 
tory in  keeping  raspberries,  juniper-berries,  taraxacum  and  parsley 
roots,  etc. — Pharm.  Ztschr.f.  RussL,  1891,  757. 
Presence  of  metals  in  volatile  oils.  —  A  crystalline  sediment, 
deposited  by  oil  of  cassia,  was  proven  to  be  lead  cinnamate ;  the  oil 
being  exported  from  China  in  lead-containers  accounts  for  this.  An 
examination  of  twelve  samples  of  commercial  oil  of  cassia  revealed 
lead  in  all  but  one  sample ;  the  test  is  easily  made  by  agitating  a 
few  drops  of  the  oil  with  hydrogen  sulphide  water,  when  the  globules 
of  oil  become  red  to  black  in  color,  depending  upon  the  amount  of 
lead  present. 
A  sample  of  sandal-wood  oil  exported  in  a  zinc-container  was 
found  to  separate  a  sediment  containing  zinc.  These  observations 
lead  to  the  recommendation  that  essential  oils  should  be  kept  in  glass 
vessels  only. — E.  Hirschsohn,  Pharm.  Ztschr.f.  RussL,  1 891,  790. 
Tumenol-preparations  are  recent  dermal  remedies ;  they  are  pre- 
pared from  the  mineral  oils  obtained  in  the  distillation  of  bitu- 
minous slate  ;  after  agitating  the  oil  first  with  sodium  hydrate  and 
then  with  sulphuric  acid  it  is  treated  with  fuming  sulphuric  acid  ;  the 
dark  syrupy  liquid  which  separates  is  washed  with  water  and  salt 
solution,  and  then  dissolved  in  sodium  hydrate  solution  ;  from  this 
solution  ether  extracts  what  is  called  tumenol-oil  (an  aromatic, 
syrupy  liquid,  soluble  in  ether,  ligroin  and  benzol) ;  by  the  addi- 
tion of  hydrochloric  acid  to  the  sodium  hydrate  solution  tumenol- 
sulphonic  acid  is  precipitated  (a  black,  bitter,  odorless  powder 
soluble  in  water,  but  precipitated  by  addition  of  acids).  A  mix- 
ture of  these  two  substances  forms  tumenol-venale,  a  soft,  resinous, 
odorless  mass.  They  have  strong  reducing  actions  and  their  effect 
is  probably  due  to  this ;  in  this  they  differ  notably  from  ichthyol 
which  owes  its  action  to  the  sulphur  present.  Tumenol-prepara- 
tions are  used  either  as  lotions  or  as  ointments  containing  5-10  per 
cent,  tumenol  along  with  zinc  oxide  or  bismuth  subnitrate. — 
{Deutsch.  Med.  Wochenschr.)  Apoth.  Ztg.,  1891,663. 
Solutolis  a  new  disinfectant  containing  in  100  cc,  60  4  grams  cresol 
of  which  one-fourth  is  free,  the  other  three-fourths  in  combination 
as  sodium-cresol ;  it  is  claimed  to  combine  the  disinfecting  action  of 
cresol  and  sodium  hydrate.    It  is  generally  used  in  5  per  cent. 
