Gleanings from the Foreign Journals.
By THE EDITOR.
Composition of Crude Cream of Tartar.—J. C. Sticht has analyzed a number of samples of light-colored and red crude tartar, obtained from Spain, Germany, Austria and Italy, and found its composition to vary exceedingly. Besides organic and other foreign matters, amounting to from 3-64 to 22-20 per ct., the light-colored tartar contained between 34 and 88-36 per ct. bitartrate of potassa, and between 7-80 and 52 per ct. tartrate of lime. The dark-colored tartars yielded, besides from 6 to 56-40 per ct. coloring matter and other impurities, from 3-60 to 90 per ct. bitartrate of potassa, and from 4 to 40 per ct. of tartrate of lime.— Wittstein's Viertelj. Schr., 1871, 447.
Purified Honey.—H. Michel has tried Heugel's process for purifying crude honey, published last year in the Russian Journal of Pharmacy, and obtained excellent results. The process is as follows: 2 lbs. each of honey and water are mixed with ½ oz. carbonate of magnesia, frequently agitated for 2 or 3 hours, and then filtered through a double filter made of ordinary white filtering paper. The clear filtrate is heated for some time to boiling, the scum carefully removed, afterwards the liquid evaporated upon a steam-bath to a syrupy consistence. Honey of roses may be made from crude honey as follows, thus avoiding more than one evaporation: The infusion of 2 oz. rose leaves in 24 oz. hot water is expressed and strained after 12 hours; the cold liquid mixed with 24 oz. crude honey, and afterwards with 2 drachms of carbonate of magnesia; the mixture is frequently agitated for 2 or 3 hours, filtered and evaporated in a steam-bath to the proper consistence.—Ibid., 446.
Analysis of the Red Whortleberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Lin.—Dr. Gräger.—The berries contain 10.185 soluble principles, 4.204 insoluble residue, cellulose, pectose, &c., and 85.611 water. The expressed juice was found to contain 1.975 free organic acid (citric and malic), 5.185 sugar, 0.476 tannin, 2.833 albuminous and pectinaceous bodies, suspended fat, &c., 0.216 inorganic bases (potassa, lime, magnesia, iron), and 89.815 water.
The insoluble residue yielded 0.102 per ct. ashes, consisting of sulphate and phosphate of lime, silicic acid, and oxide of iron.—N. Jahrb. Pharm., 1871, Oct., 208-213.
A Compound of Sugar and Chloride of Sodium may, according to Mr. Maumené, be obtained by evaporating upon a water-bath a syrup containing 100 p. sugar to 13 p. of table salt. The crystalline mass is drained upon a funnel, and washed several times by returning the mother liquor upon it. The filtrate will now yield large prisms of the composition C24H22O22NaCl + 4HO.—Bull. de la Soc. Chim. Paris, 1871. 1st quarter.
Adulteration of Chocolate.—Archiv d. Pharm., 1871, July, contains a notice that, in the neighborhood of Bingen-on-the-Rhine, grape seeds are sold at the rate of about $1 per cwt., and that in that neighborhood 500 cwt. had been ground for the purpose, it is said, of adulterating chocolate.
Milk preserved for thirteen years by Appert's method, has been examined by Prof. Bouchardat. It was in three layers, the lowest of which consisted of a thin white deposit; the intermediate stratum was most abundant, and formed of an aqueous liquid, not perfectly transparent and of a yellowish color. The upper layer consisted mainly of fat which is partly liquid at 15 °C.; only the two lower strata could be mixed by agitation, the butter separating readily. When the flask was opened, the liquid was found to have a faint odor of boiled milk; it was not coagulated by heat. The butter solidified during the night, its taste was little agreeable, somewhat rancid, though its odor was distinct from that of butyric acid.—Répert. de Pharm., Sept., 1871.
