June,l900J Analytical Notes 697 in which there was no suspicion of influenza, The author concludes, therefore, that the cocco-bacillus which Pfeiffer and others have described as occurring in the sputum of patients with influenza is there merely accidentally, and not as the cause of the disease. ANALYTICAL NOTES. ESTDIATIO~OF CHLORAL HYDRATE IN TOXICOLOGICA.L WORK. Russwuns.-c-Ohloral hydrate only distils with difficulty in a current of steam. The substance should be made alkaline and then

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... lled; a portion of the distillate is boiled with alcoholic potash under an inverted condenser to split off the chlorine, which is then determined as usual.-Analyst. DETEmIINATIOX OF MORPHINE IN TOXICOLOGICAL CASES. Russ-wUR~.-:rhe author modifies the usual process slightly so as to recover the alkaloid in crystalline condition. The original ammoniacal solution is extracted with warm amylic alcohol, the latter is shaken with hydrochloric acid, the aqueous liquid is supersaturated with ammonia, and the solution is extracted with chloroform. The chloroform is evaporated till only a few c.c, are left, mixed with 50 grlLmmeõ f petroleum spirit, and set aside for twenty-four hours. The liquor is poured off, the morphine crystals are dried first in the air, then at . 80· or 90· .C., and finally weighed.-Analyst. A NEW REAGEXT FOR ALKALOIDS, ESPECIALLY OPIUM BASES.-MECKE. -A 0'5 per cent. solution of selenious acid in strong sulphuric acid gives characteristic colour reactions with colchicine, veratrine, and more particularly with the alkaloids of opium. The reagent strikes a conspicuous greentint even with 0'005 milligramme of morphine and codeine, and the reaction is therefore more delicate than its predeces sors, appearing immediately and in the cold. When the colours produced by sulphuric acid alone are red, they are very liable to be masked by the brown shade formed by the action of the acid upon extractive matters if the alkaloids are impure; the green yielded by selenious odd in presence of codeine and morphine, on the other hand, is distinctly visible even if the solution turns brown.-Analyst. POISOXING DY FOOD CO~TAI};ING Tw.-Professor Gunter reports a case of poisoning by tin, which resulted from eating some preserved herrings, the symptoms being great pain in the stomach, oppression, and loss of appetite. The tinned iron vessel which had contained the herrings was found to have been extensively corroded; the pieces of herring showed the presence of tin to the amount of '103 per cent. ; '031 per cent. of the metal was also found in the herring liquid. The dangers that attach to the use of metal ' cases in tho packing of food have already been drawn attention to in the British Food Journal. In some parts of the Continent, and more particularly in Holland, the interior of the tin is protected from corrosion by means of insoluble varnish. Food containing vinegar, or which is of an acid character, should not be cooked in the containing tins. Tinned vegetables of au acid nature, which have occasioned the poisoning of ,persons who have partaken of them, have been found to contain a large amount of tin. 'I'he vegetables in question had been cooked . in the tin in which they had been preserved, and thus enough tin was dissolved to produce the poisonous effects.-British Food Journal,