some specimens of Japan isinglass, and by the presence of which M. Menier detected the marine origin of some commercial currant jelly.

Nitophyllum ?-Some portions presented a flat frond and hexagonal areolation, which recalled the structure of Nitophyllum. These, however, were found only in very small quantity, and in a badly preserved state.

Polysiphonia tapinocarpa, Sur.-This alga was met with in the form of little sections of filaments, consisting of short joints which, on transverse section, showed ten siphons. It seems to belong to the above species, as figured in "Alga Japonica," 1870, p. 37, pl. xxv., B. Some fragments of Melobesia? were found in this plant.

Polysiphonia fragilis, Sur.-This species is represented by Suringar on the same plate as the last, fig. A. It is distinguished from the last by showing only five tubes in the transverse section.

Polysiphonia parasitica, Grev.-This species has not apparently been yet found on the coast of Japan, but from the fragments possessing eight or nine siphons, and from other characters which were well preserved in the specimen examined, there can be but little doubt that they belong to the above species, as figured by Kütz., l. c., xiii., p. 9, t. xxvi.

Diatomacea.-The author has found a large number of species belonging to this group, but especially Arachnoidiscus ornatus, Ehr., described and represented by M. Suringar, " Alge Jap.," fasc. iii., p. 5, pl. i., and by M. Menier.

The above are by no means the only species which enter into the composition of Japanese isinglass, but a large number of others, which were observed to be different, were too damaged to be recognisable. The two forms of the article seem to be made with the same algæ, so far as it is possible to judge from the species found in them, but with this difference, that in the quadrangular form Gloiopeltis seemed to be the chief ingredient, while in the slender sticks Gelidium corneum was most abundant. This, however, may not be the case in all samples. It seems probable that the Japanese and Chinese search their coasts for such algae as furnish mucilaginous substances, and having collected them, do not trouble themselves to remove the parasites which are attached to them, or less gelatinous species which are entangled with them, and thus the quality of different species varies considerably. If the gathering consists almost entirely of Gelidium, Gloiopeltis, and Endocladia, the transparency, whiteness, and purity are very noticeable.

The name of Japanese isinglass, inasmuch as isinglass (ichthyocolla) means fish glue, is objectionable, and should not be retained. The name 66 agar-agar," which has by some writers been proposed for it, has no better claim, since it is applied to various alge which are not known to enter into the composition of this substance.

According to Mertens (Preussiche Exped. nach Ost Asien, Die Tange, 1866, p. 140), the following species are employed in the East Indies, under the name of agar-agar:-Eucheuma spinosum, J. Ag., Sphærococcus serra, Kütz., S. gelatinus, Ag., Gigartina horrida, Harv., and at Timor, Hypnea divaricata, Grev.

The term gelose is also objectionable, on account of being applied to a definite chemical substance.

The name phycocolle, or seaweed glue, would be preferable, unless the name tjintiow or lo-thâ-ho be preserved.

Gum Savakin. G. Reimann. (Amer. Journ. Pharm., April, 1881.) This gum is gathered near the west coast of the Red Sea, farther east than the other varieties of gum arabic, and is shipped from the port of Suakin or Savakin; hence its name. It appears in commerce as sub-globular tears, which are more or less broken, have a conchoidal glass-like fracture, and, in consequence of numerous fissures, appear quite opaque. It is imported in considerable quantity, and not unfrequently sold for medicinal use.

A mucilage made with eight ounces of this gum to one pint of water was found to be very thick and viscid, a great deal of the gum remaining, as it seemed, undissolved; this was strained out. On diluting the mucilage with water, it was noticed that what appeared to be small transparent globules separated, and upon repeated shaking would not dissolve. Some of these globules were collected by diluting the mucilage with water, stirring constantly, allowing to settle, decanting the water, and repeating this operation until all the soluble matter had been removed. The globules were found to be insoluble in boiling water, though on the addition of solution of caustic potash, or other caustic alkali, they were dissolved, but the salts of the alkalies were without action. A quantity of the globules spread on panes of glass and dried, yielded thin, transparent scales. On boiling these with water they would merely swell up and be transformed into transparent globules again.

These experiments show that they are analogous to, and doubtless identical with, gummic acid, which seems to pre-exist in the gum in the free state, and in the mucilage is held in suspension, while from a dilute aqueous solution it separates as colourless globules.

Numerous expedients were tried to prevent this precipitation, and the only one found successful was to carefully add, before straining, to one-half of the mucilage sufficient solution of caustic potash to make it very slightly alkaline, then add the other half of the mucilage, and shake the mixture well, which should now have a slight acid reaction. After it has stood a little while it can be strained without loss, and may be mixed with water, and otherwise used like that prepared from Kordofan gum.

Five grams of the ash were incinerated, and yielded 0.19 gram of ash, equal to 3.8 per cent. Analysis showed the presence of calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Notes on Tænicides. A. Janssen. (Zeitschr. des oesterr. Apoth. Ver., 1881, 31.) The author attributes many of the failures of the best tape-worm remedies to the mode of their application, and to improper conditions of the remedies themselves. Pomegranate root-bark, to be efficient should be freshly decorticated, of recent collection, and from wild-grown trees not less than ten years old. It is best administered in the form of an infusion to which a little tannin has been added. A decoction is much inferior to an infusion in its action. If an extract be wanted, this should be made by infusing (not boiling) the bark, and evaporating the infusion at a low temperature. Male fern should be collected in autumn and used fresh; the ethereal extract made from the fresh rhizome is the best form of application. It is most active against Botrio-cephalus latus and cordatus, but less so against Taenia solium. Cusso is a most efficient remedy, provided it consists of the fully developed female flowers (recognisable by their reddish calyces), and is free from stalks. Unfortunately it is but rarely met with in commerce in this condition. The powder prepared from these female flowers proves successful in almost every instance. Kamala, if fairly free from sand and unadulterated, is often found to act exceedingly well.

Bulgarian Opium. A. Theegarten. (Pharmaceut. Zeitung, 1881, 261, from Pharmaceut. Zeitschr. für Russland, 1881, 229.) Bulgaria has recently produced some very good opium, especially in the Lowtscha district. A sample examined by the author yielded 11.2 per cent. of impure and 8 per cent. of pure morphine. It had a powerful odour, like that of opium of good quality, and a bitter acrid taste. To water it yielded nearly 70 per cent. of its weight.

Notes on the Aloins. Dr. T. F. Hanausek. (Zeitschr. des oesterr. Apoth. Ver., 1881, 183.) Treumann has prepared and examined the aloins from Barbadoes, Curaçao, Socotra, Natal, and Cape aloes. They all form a homologous series; those of Curaçao

and Barbadoes aloes show the closest agreement in their behaviour towards reagents, though they differ in their composition, the former corresponding to the formula C15 H17 07, the latter to C17 H20 O7. Therapeutically the most active is the aloin from Cape aloes, and the least active that of Natal aloes.

Comparative Examination of the most Important Kinds of Commercial Gum Arabic. E. Masing. (Archiv der Pharm., [3], xv., 216.) The author has estimated the solubility, the percentages of moisture and ash, and the alkalinity of the ash in a number of different commercial samples of this gum, and has studied the behaviour of each sample towards solutions of potassium silicate, potassium stannate, lead acetate, aluminium sulphate, and copper acetate. The paper contains a tabulated statement of the results. The author arrives at the conclusion, that although different kinds of gum show differences when thus tested, the source of the gum can seldom be inferred from such an examination. The value of the gum is better judged from its solubility than from its colour; the percentage of ash seldom varies beyond narrow limits, but the alkalinity of the ash is much more variable; the alkalinity was usually entirely or mainly due to lime, and potash was seldom present in any quantity. The ash was invariably soluble in dilute hydrochloric acid, and any quantity of insoluble residue would therefore indicate the presence of sand or other insoluble substances. The differences in behaviour shown by the different kinds of gum towards the same reagent probably indicate the existence of different modifications of gummic acid.

Gum Hogg. C. L. Mitchell. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm., 1880, 230.) Under the above title a peculiar form of gum is described in the U.S. "Dispensatory," p. 1664. It was obtained from the establishment of Messrs. J. B. Lippincott & Co., where it was used in the process of bookbinding. As described by Dr. Wood, "it is in lumps of various sizes, from that of a chestnut to that of a walnut or larger, of an extremely irregular shape, often much contorted, appearing frequently as if consisting of several pieces which had become agglutinated in their soft state, translucent and nearly colourless, with a slight reddish yellow tint in some places, of a rather dull though somewhat shining surface, very hard, brittle, with a glassy fracture, inodorous, and nearly or quite tasteless. With water it swells to a soft transparent mass, which retains this condition long without change; and if now stirred, instead of forming a consistent mucilage, breaks up into minute, irregalar, transparent fragments, which retain this form indefinitely.”

Chemically examined by Professor William Proctor, jun., it was found to be only very slightly soluble in water, both cold and hot, the solution giving a precipitate with subacetate of lead, but none with oxalate of ammonium, in the latter respect differing from gum arabic. The insoluble portion was dissolved by strong sulphuric acid, and was converted by boiling dilute sulphuric acid into a soluble gum. He considered the insoluble substance to be bassorin, the insoluble constituent of tragacanth, and the gum itself probably the same as Bassora gum. The gum was obtained from the East Indies, but its botanical source is unknown.

The attention of the writer was recently called to this article, and a few experiments and a number of inquiries were made with a view to determine its true relation to Bassora gum. A quantity of the drug was accordingly obtained from the same house which furnished the specimens to Dr. Wood. Upon examination it did not present quite the same physical characteristics which are described by him, but appears to be more a collection of gums from different species, bearing a general similarity to tragacanth. It occurs in fragments of irregular shape, and varying from the size of a chestnut to much larger. Its colour in different samples varies from a dirty white to a yellowish brown. It is hard, inodorous, tasteless, and breaks with a short, glassy fracture. Some fragments have still adhering portions of the bark of the tree from which it has been obtained; while the general appearance of the gum shows it to have been deposited in successive exudations, similar to tragacanth.

A portion of the gum was set aside with a quantity of cold water, when, after the expiration of twenty-four hours, it had swollen up into a soft, white, transparent mass, occupying the lower half of the vessel. When agitated, this mass showed no disposition to form a uniform mucilage, but separated into small, soft, transparent, and rather granular fragments, resembling pounded ice; this subsided to the bottom of the vessel again when it was set at rest. The whole was now thrown on a filter, and the filtrate examined. It gave a very faint precipitate with subacetate of lead, and no reaction whatever with oxalate of ammonium; it was neutral in reaction, and had neither taste nor smell.

A second portion of the gum, treated by prolonged boiling with water, gave the same result as when treated with cold water. The insoluble portion was next examined. Alcohol and ether had no solvent action upon it. Boiled with dilute sulphuric acid it was soon dissolved, the resulting solution showing no reaction with tincture of iodine, and not responding to Trommer's test for sugar.