380 A COMPENDIUM OF 
ted and streaked; it closely resembles pumice 
stone, and contains extractive matter and am- 
brein, which when isolated occurs in needle- 
shaped crystals. The odor resembles fcecal mat- 
ter found in a country privy, the urine of 
which has been drained off by the earth. Only 
used as an adjunct to perfumery. 
Butyrum, Butter.—Obtained from the cream 
(rising upon milk) by process of churning, and 
as a rule is made from the milk of the cow—the 
genus Los Taurus, class Mammalia, and order 
Ruminantia, This substance, so well known 
as a food and luxury, exists in the milk of all the 
Mammalia. 
The quality and odor of butter depend great- 
ly upon the length of time the cream is allowed 
to stand, and the kind of food upon which the 
animal is fed. Butter, like the other fats of an- 
imal origin, contains o/ein, palmitin, stearin, 
and glycerides. The first named principle con- 
stitutes about 30 percent., the second 68 per cent 
while the glicerides make up the balance in a 
hundred parts of the whole. When saponified by 
the alkaline salts butter yields caprylic, caprontc, 
and butyric acids, Butter when used for 
medicinal purposes should be fresh and free 
frcm salt and casein, and this is done by melt- 
ing it in warm water and decanting the clear 
liquid. Fresh butter ointment is recommended 
as a remedy in some skin affections. 
Castoreum, Castor.—This substance is ob- 
tained from the Castor Fiber, or Beaver, and 
from both the male and female animals. The 
follicles are situated in or about the genital 
