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Chemical Preparations and Drugs. 



ApioL This preparation remains out of the market, as it has 

 not been possible to procure the necessary raw material. The position 

 as depicted in our last Report has therefore undergone no change. 



Civet. We cannot too often insist on the fact that we have at 

 our disposal an excellent assortment of civet in original horns, and 

 that the civet business is a speciality of ours par excellence. It is 

 notoriously difficult to judge the quality of the drug, and on account 

 of its peculiar properties it is entirely an article which must be taken 

 on trust. 



Copaiba Balsam, Bolivian, C. Hartwich 1 ), in a paper on 

 Bolivian drugs, reports on a new Copaiba balsam of Bolivian origin. 

 This balsam is not only of interest because it comes from an entirely 

 new producing district, but also, and especially, because it is the product 

 of a new and hitherto unknown species of copaiba. 



This species, which was discovered by Herzog in Bolivia, and is 

 described by him as Copaiba paupera nov. spec, is a tree about 

 30 meters high, which occurs sporadically in the forests of the Pro- 

 vince of Velazco, on the Rio Blanco, and is known to the natives 

 by the name of Copdivo. The balsam occurs in the heart-wood, in 

 hardly visible channels, and in much smaller proportions than in the 

 copaibas previously known. Herzog states that the balsam is obtained 

 by cutting a hole in the tree in a downward slanting direction, reaching 

 to the heart of the wood. The manner in which this is done is 

 explained in the original article by means of an illustration. The 

 exudation of the balsam continues two or three days, the total output 

 per tree being about 1 1 kilos. The quantity of balsam at Hartwich's 

 disposal was insufficient to admit of a complete examination, but the 

 results obtained by him were as follow: — 



The product was of a viscous consistency, light brownish yellow 

 colour, and resembled the known varieties of copaiba balsam (es- 

 pecially Maracaibo balsam), both in odour and in taste. It also 

 resembles the latter in its other properties, but in its optical be- 

 haviour it offers marked differences, being in this respect more nearly 

 related to African balsam, for, like that variety, it is dextrorotatory, 

 whereas all other copaiba balsams turn to the left. We give the con- 

 stants below: di 5 o 0,998, a Di5o-|-36 , n D20° 1 ^5 22 y acid no. (according 

 to Dieterich) 89,7, sap. no. (cold) 97,23, from which is calculated an 

 ester no. 7,55; sap. no. (hot) 101,5. The higher value of the last- 

 named figure agrees with the observations made by Utz 2 ) on other 



x ) Schweiz. Wochenschr. f. Chem. u. Pharm. 47 (1909), 373. 

 2 ) Apotheker Ztg. 21 (1906), 205; Report October 1906, 28. 



