EDITORIAL. 45 



Insular Collector of Customs, the Director of Health, and the Col- 

 lector of Internal Eevenue are authorized to make uniform rules and 

 regulations subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior of 

 the Philippine Islands for the enforcement of the law, and the Bureau of 

 Science is directed to carry on all examinations of samples submitted by 

 the three officials in whom the active enforcement of the law rests. The 

 work of actively enforcing the law was commenced in the month of 

 August, 1907, by the inspection of foods and drugs- passing through the 

 custom-house of the port of Manila. Later, the collection of samples was 

 extended to other ports of entry of the Philippine Islands. During the 

 first six months of the enforcement of the law, August, 1907, to Feb- 

 ruary, 1908, over four hundred samples of foods and drugs were examined 

 by this Bureau. These samples will be segregated into their respective 

 classes and the analyses summarized from time to time. The butters, 

 cheeses, and hams are represented as follows : 



Butters. — Number of samples, 30 : Australia, 14 ; Denmark, 3 ; France, 

 3; Germany, 2; Holland, 8; United States, 1. The analyses showed 9 

 to be imitations, 12 to contain a boron compound, and 9 legal. 



Cheeses. — Number of samples, 24; England, 1; France, 3; Germany, 

 2; Holland, 15; Switzerland, 3; native, 1. The classes represented are 

 Brie, cottage, Gruyere, Limburger, Eoquefort, Stilton and the Dutch 

 varieties. The analyses showed that 10 samples were not according to 

 the standards and were probably made from skimmed milk. Fourteen 

 were found to be legal. 



Hams. — Number of samples, 30 : Australia, 1 ; China, 3 ; England, 

 17 ; Japan, 1 ; United States, 8. The analyses showed 26 to contain • 

 nitrates and 7 a compound of boron. 



H. D. GiBBS. 



PURIFICATION OF COCONUT OIL. 



Coconut oil, as it is expressed from sun or grilled dried copra, always 

 contains a quantity of impurities — organic coloring matter, albuminoid 

 bodies and a certain characteristic odor, all of which are objectionable 

 for particular purposes for which the oil is otherwise well suited. While 

 it is entirely possible to produce a p)ure oil directly from the nuts if 

 special precaution in curing them is taken, the demand for highly refined 

 oil does not seem to warrant the introduction of modern mechanical 

 methods of desiccation at the present time, hence the numerous patents 

 which are taken out from time to time and the frequent notices in the 

 literature of new or improved j)rocesses for the production of pure coconut 

 oil, refer to some subsequent chemical treatment of the commercially 

 expressed oil itself. Clarification by filtration, subsidence or heating 

 with or without the addition of coagulants is simple and economical of 



