516  Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.  {Am- oT;J£&rm' 
drug  acts  by  reducing  the  arterial  pressure,  relieving  the  congestion 
of  the  uterus  and  by  calming  the  excitability  of  the  vaso-motor 
centres  of  the  gastrointestinal  tract. 
The  testing  of  fats  with  acetic  acid  is  recommended  by  Ferd.  Jean 
{L  Industrie  laitiere,  June  26)  for  recognizing  their  purity,  and  as 
control  experiments  of  results  obtained  by  other  methods.  Equal 
measures  of  the  acetic  acid  (spec.  grav.  1-056)  and  the  fat,  3  cc.  of 
each,  are  introduced  into  a  narrow  graduated  tube,  the  fat  being 
previously  heated  to  500  C,  and  the  acid  measured  at  22°  ;  the  tube 
is  placed  in  a  water- bath,  agitated  occasionally,  and  when  the  two 
liquids  have  completely  separated,  the  volume  of  undissolved  acid 
is  noted.  It  has  been  observed  that  under  the  conditions  stated 
the  following  fats  dissolve  different  quantities  of  the  acetic  acid ; 
namely,  cocoanut  oil,  castor  oil  and  mineral  oil,  each  100  per  cent. ; 
butter  from  nine  districts,  63-33  (from  two  other  districts,  58-33  and 
73-0,  respectively),  Indian  poppy  oil,  63-3,  beach  nut  oil,  53-3,  French 
poppy  oil,  43  3,  neats'  foot  oil,  43-3,  ground  nut  oil,  43-6-4I-65, 
palm  oil,  4  00,  nut  oil,  36-6,  olive  oil,  35-0,  mustard  oil,  33-3,  almond 
°il>  33'0,  colza  oil,  30-0,  lard  2666  per  cent.;  rosin  oil  dissolves 
nothing. 
Artificial  gum  arable. — For  the  preparation  of  a  so-called  artificial 
gum  arabic  the  Rev.  de  chim.  indust.  (through  Nouv.  Remedes,  1892, 
No.  13  supplem.)  gives  the  following  process:  10  kilograms  linseed 
are  boiled  with  80  kilograms  sulphuric  acid  and  100  litres  of  water 
for  three  or  four  hours.  The  liquid  is  then  filtered  and  four  times 
its  volume  of  alcohol  is  added.  The  precipitate  is  collected,  washed 
and  dried.  The  product  is  amorphous,  colorless,  insipid  and  gives 
with  water  a  thick  mucilage. 
Parsley. — Dr.  Mourgues  (Soc.  chim.  de  Paris,  June  24,  1892), 
isolated  from  parsley  a  higher  homologue  of  apiol  which  he  named 
cariol  CUH1S04.  It  polymerizes  easily  and  yields  a  penta-brom- 
cariol  C14H13Br504.  The  physiological  action  of  cariol  is  similar 
to  that  of  apiol,  but  weaker. 
Strontium  preparations.-— Dr.  Bardet  [Rev.  de  Th'erapeut.,  1892, 
410),  prescribes  the  iodide  and  bromide  of  strontium  in  a  like 
manner  as  the  salts  of  potassium  and  sodium,  however,  without  the 
fear  of  producing  gastric  intolerance. 
