Amijr\i;f892arm'}  Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.  193 
placed  with  80-90  cc.  water  in  a  flask  of  200  cc.  contents.  To  this 
is  added  -5  gm.  salicylic  acid,  the  whole  boiled  from  20-25  minutes, 
then  sufficient  cold  water  is  added  to  make  about  190  cc.,  and  the 
contents  are  then  cooled.  Lastly  1  cc.  ammonia  is  added,  the 
quantity  made  up  to  200  cc,  shaken  and  filtered.  The  liquid  is 
examined  in  a  400  mm.  tube,  giving  the  amount  of  anhydrous 
starch  in  the  sample,  if  a  saccharimeter  is  used  whose  100  division 
correspond  to  to  gm.  saccharose  (Vivian).  If  a  Laurent  saccha- 
rimeter is  used  where  the  divisions  correspond  to  16-198  saccharose, 
only  2-688  gm.  of  starch  are  to  be  employed.  In  this  case  the 
number  of  degrees  observed  multiplied  by  2  gives  the  percentage. 
For  determining  the  quantity  of  impurities  it  is  only  necessary  to 
filter  the  soluble  starch  through  two  equipoised  filters,  one  placed 
within  the  other,  and  then  washing  the  residue  with  boiling  water 
until  the  filtrate  gives  no  reaction  with  ferric  chloride.  The  filters 
are  then  dried  and  weighed. 
Santoninoxime  as  an  anthelmintic  is  recommended  by  Coppola 
( Union  med.)  who  regards  it  as  a  safe  and  reliable  substitute  for  san- 
tonin, requiring  doses  about  three  times  as  large  as  those  of  the 
latter,  the  administration,  however,  not  being  followed  by  unpleasant 
effects. 
Santoninoxime,  C15H19N03,  was  first  prepared  in  1889,  by  P.  Guici 
{Gazz.  chim.  xix,  367)  by  digesting  near  80 0  C  ,  for  3  or  4  days  5  p. 
santonin,  4  p.  hydroxylamine  hydrochloride,  50  p.  strong  alcohol 
and  4  p.  precipitated  calcium  carbonate.  It  crystallizes  in  white 
silky  needles,  melts  at  about  2170  C,  is  very  slightly  soluble  in  hot 
water,  and  turns  polarized  light  to  the  left,  [«]D  =  —  80-83. 
Ephedra  vulgaris  is  esteemed  in  Russia  as  a  popular  anti- rheu- 
matic remedy.  Dr.  Betchine  of  St.  Petersburg  {Lyon  medicate)  has 
found  the  bark  and  the  root  quite  efficacious  in  acute  articular 
rheumatism  with  high  fever,  but  in  chronic  rheumatism  not  accom- 
panied by  fever  only  temporary  relief  could  be  observed.  See  also 
Am.  Jour.  Phar.,  1884,  p.  540 ;  1890,  pp.  339,  397. 
Value  of  Cinchonas  cultivated  at  Reunion. — The  French  govern- 
ment has  been  making  experiments  with  the  cultivation  of  cin- 
chonas at  Reunion.  Analyses  of  these  barks  made  by  Houdas 
show  that  they  contain  but  4-32  per  cent,  of  total  alkaloids,  1-70 
per  cent,  being  quinine. — Rep.  de  Pharm.  1892,  90. 
