COMMERCIAL NOTES AND SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION. 99 
of alcohol. Shake well, and add 2 cc. of concentrated sulphuric acid and mix thoroughly. 
When this test is applied, pure Gaultheria oil produces an intense crimson colour, and 
pure Betula oil a deep blood red, while synthetic esters give a yellow colour. The 
author of the article concludes from the above that this test will make possible the 
differentiation of pure natural oil from oil which is heavily adulterated with the artificial 
product, but he very properly leaves it an open question whether the test will prove 
to be really useful in practice. 
We have made a control-test with oils distilled by ourselves, and have generally 
confirmed the statements made above, except that we found that Betula oil at first 
gave a decidedly paler colour than did Gaultheria oil. In the course of time the 
colours of both oils assumed the same dark tone, and in the end scarcely any difference 
was perceptible. The synthetic product produced the yellow colour mentioned above. 
Wormseed Oil, American. Fortunately, the fears which we felt last autumn in 
respect of the result of the crop have not been realized. When the distillation began 
in the autumn of 1913, large quantities of oil from 1912 were still available, and second- 
hand holders also were plentifully supplied. As a result of these conditions the prices 
began to give way, and as the farmers in Maryland could not make up their minds to 
accept the bids made them by the dealers, they will in all probability be obliged to 
continue to carry their stock for some time to come. In Europe the excellent medicinal 
qualities of American wormseed oil are continually causing an extension of the 
demand, and we are of opinion that the future of the article is full of promise. 
A. Lechler, in a dissertation’) describes the excellent action of American wormseed 
oil, as well as of Wermolin (Hmulsio olei chenopodii anthelmenthici composita), a prepara- 
tion from this oil, in the treatment of ascaridz. It appears from Lechler’s investigations 
that ascaridiasis is a very frequent complaint with children, and that its seriousness 
should not be underestimated. 
We are now able to give some furtner particulars of Wermolin, which we take 
from a paper’) by Bruning which, although published some considerable time ago, 
has only just come to our knowledge. The disagreeable taste and odour of American 
wormseed oil have always been an inducement to try to find a suitable form of 
administering it. As capsules are out of the question, especially for juvenile patients, 
the obvious alternative appeared to be to render the oil less unpleasant to the taste 
by suitable aromatisation, but in spite of many attempts no such suitable method has 
yet been found. Better results were achieved by giving the oil as an emulsion, and 
such a preparation has been sold for many years by the “Adler’”-pharmacy at Hilden, 
(Rhine-Province) under the name of Wermolin. The mixture is put up in vials of 
50 grams and sold at -#1,50 per vial. The sole active principle of the mixture is 
1,5 grams per vial of American wormseed oil in castor oil, saccharin and essential oils 
being used to correct the taste. The dose, according to the instructions, varies for 
children from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful according to age, morning and evening; 
for adults the dose is a full vial, divided in two equal portions to be taken in the 
course of one day. The principal function of Wermolin is to expel ascaridz, but it 
1) Zur Frage der Haufigkeit, Diagnose und neueren Behandlung der Spulwurmkrankheit bei Kindern (On 
the frequency, diagnosis, and modern treatment of ascaridiasis in children), Rostock 1913. From a copy kindly 
sent to us. — 7”) Deutsch. Med. Wochenschr. 88 (1912), 2368. 
7* 
