October, 1880. 
THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST. 
47 
tion. Perhaps some of your readers may think the subject worthy 
of remark with the view of an investigation being instituted, and 
the use of this poison for any purposes of food made punishable 
by law. The quantity supplied appears to be annually on the 
increase, and is in fact a recognised marketable commodity. 
You kindly published extracts on the poisonous action of Lolium 
temulentum when used in flour, &c., from some of the best 
authorities of the day. The subject is one peculiarly suited to 
your columns, and on that account request your insertion of 
these remarks. In conclusion I have to ask your able assistance 
in throwing all the fresh light possible to prevent the evil in- 
creasing as it has been, and undoubtedly is at present. 
GRAHAM MITCHELL, F.R.C.Y.S. 
Melbourne, 1st November, 1880. 
P.S. — I herewith forward a sample of the “mash” referred to, 
which you might place on view. G. M. 
THE APOLLO CANDLE COMPANY. 
Amongst the principal Victorian exhibits at the International 
Exhibition, that of the Apollo Stearine Candle Co. (Lmtd.) may 
fairly claim a place in the foremost rank. Their trophies are 
two in number — one representing the stearine industry, and the 
other one of the various soaps made by this firm. The more im- 
portant of their two trophies is naturally that devoted to 
stearine candles of every description, glycerine, and various 
oils produced in their process of manufacture. The form is 
octagon, with an octagon dome, and here we may draw atten- 
tion to the fact that this exhibit is unique in kind. The 
whole of the case containing the candle exhibit is made of 
stearine. This case is sixteen feet in diameter, and twenty- 
three feet high. The dome is surmounted by a large bust of 
Apollo, on a pedestal also of stearine, and on the columns 
stand eight stearine figures representing the four quarters of 
the globe and the four seasons. The whole case has the 
appearance of a marble temple, and contains nearly four 
hundred separate castings. Within is an octagon pyramid 
with carved sides, on which are arranged, according to size 
and colour, candles of every possible description and material, 
amongst which may be mentioned — stearine, paraffine, 
spermaceti, wax, ozokerit, composite, & c., in sizes vary- 
ing from the large 2-lb. altar candle, to the tiny taper of 
eighty to the pound. Every kind of fancy candle is here 
shown — cable, spiral, fluted, star-shaped, painted ; various 
patent ends, to fit any candlestick ; aerated candles, with 
internal channels to prevent guttering and wash ; tulip 
candles, holly candles, and candles in the shape of Cleo- 
patra’s needle — hieroglyphics and all — besides the more ordinary 
candles for household and mining purposes, for cabs, omni- 
busses, coaches, ship-lanterns, &c. Within the case appear, 
also, various bottles containing crude glycerine-oleine for 
lubricating, saponified and oleic acid, and the various products 
of the stearine industry. 
The second trophy is hexagon in form, and is made entirely 
of household and wool-washing soap. This soap is manu- 
factured from oleic acid, a by-product of the stearine 
industry, which, until lately, was virtually useless here, and 
had to be shipped home to find a market. The company, 
however, after repeated and costly trials, have succeeded in 
working it up into various soaps, of which they are the first 
and only successful makers in Australia from this article. 
The company’s soft soap, specially made from pure oil and 
potash for wool-scouring, is also here shown. In addition to 
the ordinary soaps, they also exhibit transparent glycerine 
soaps in many varieties, as eucalyptus, carbolic, camphor, 
rose, honey, Oxford, and Cambridge, which appear in every 
size and shape of tablet, bar, and ball. These soaps are 
made by a process, peculiar to the company, from the very 
finest glycerine and other materials ; and their eucalyptus 
soap has a very wide reputation as a pleasant and healthy 
detergent. 
The company has branch factories in Sydney and Brisbane, 
and an agency in Adelaide. Its candles have almost entirely 
superseded the foreign article. In fact, the company produces 
and sells more candles throughout Australia than all foreign 
and colonial makers combined. Its consumption of tallow is 
about eighty tons weekly, and its machinery is of the most 
modern and powerful description. Its yearly production is 
about thirty million candles, which, if placed end to end, 
would extend about five thousand miles, and if burned con- 
secutively would last for twenty-eight thousand years. 
flutes anb Abstracts. 
A Novel Suture. — The Rev. J. G. Wood, the well-known 
writer on entomology, says the Medical Times , is responsible 
for the statement that in some parts of Brazil ants are used 
for sewing up wounds. He says — “ They simply pinch the 
edges of the wound together and hold the ant to it. The 
creature immediately bites at the obstacle, making its jaws 
meet. The native surgeon pulls away the body, leaving the 
head still adhering. Seven or eight ants’ heads are sometimes 
employed for a single wound.” 
Santonin Contaminated with Strychnia.— Strychnia is 
stated to be a common impurity in commercial samples of 
santonin. Forquate Gigli recommends for its detection, in 
preference to Fllickiger’s method, the following process : — 1 
gram of the sample is placed in a small beaker, covered with a 
little distilled water and acidulated with a few drops of 
sulphuric acid. On agitating with a glass rod, the strychnia 
dissolves while the santonin remains insoluble. The liquid 
is filtered, the residue washed with a little water and the 
washing added to the filtrate, which is then distributed in 
several test-glasses and examined for strychnia by means of the 
usual reagents. — Ckem. JVetvs , 18 tli June , 1880, p. 283. 
De Vrij’s improved method of preparing fluid Extract of 
Cinchona is as follows : 100 grams of the powdered bark of 
the trunk of East India Cinchona succirubra, containing at 
least 6 per cent, alkaloids, are mixed with 38 grams normal 
hydrochloric acid and 362 grams water, and are macerated for 
12 hours, at the expiration of which, 20 grams glycerin are 
added and the whole mixture is transferred to a percolator. 
When the clear percolate ceases to pass, clear water is passed 
through the percolator until the percolate is only coloured, but 
no longer rendered cloudy by soda lye, which usually is the 
case before 800 grams percolate are obtained. The latter is 
then evaporated to 100 grams, the obtained fluid extract thus 
corresponding in strength to the fluid extracts of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. — Pharm. Ztg ., 27th March, 1880, p. 187. 
Buttermilk as Summer Food, Drink, and Medicine. 
— A Detroit physician asserts ihat, for a hot weather drink, 
nothing equals buttermilk. It is, he says, “both drink and 
food, and for the labourer is the best known. It supports the 
system, and even in fever will cool the stomach admirably. 
It is also a most valuable domestic remedy. It will cure 
dysentery as well and more quickly than any other remedy 
known. Dysentery is really a constipation, and is the oppo- 
site of diarrhoea. It is inflammation of the bowels with 
congestion of the ‘ portal circulation ’ — the circulation of 
blood through the bowels and liver. It is a disease always 
prevalent in the summer and autumn. From considerable 
observation 1 feel warranted in saying that buttermilk, drunk 
moderately, will cure every case of it — certainly when taken 
in the early stages.” 
New Way of Preserving Hops.— The principal feature in 
this new system consists in sprinkling the hops with alcohol 
prior to packing, and then pressing them tightly into air-tight 
vessels. In course of time the alcohol combines with some of 
the constituents of the hop, and certain volatile ethers are 
thus formed ; these possess a strong and peculiar fruity smell, 
but being very volatile they are all dissipated during the boiling. 
Dr. Lintnerhas experimented on these preserved hops at Weihen- 
stephan, and speaks well of them ; he says the fine colour is 
retained, and there is a full development of aroma ; the 
fermentation of worts made with these hops worked well, 
and the resulting beer possessed a fine bitter flavour. If this 
method of sprinkling with alcohol will stop the development 
of valerianic acid, which takes place in hops when stored in 
the usual manner, it ought to come into general use. — Journal 
of Chemistry . 
Phosphate of Lime for Clarifying Muddy Water. 
Philadelphia appears at present to be supplied with muddy 
water extremely difficult to clarify even by filtration through 
paper. Mr. R. F. Fairthorne offers, in the Am. Jour, of Pharm., 
a simple method for remedying the evil. He says “After 
many fruitless or only partially successful efforts, I found the 
following plan to succeed admirably, namely, to agitate each 
quart of water with an ounce of phosphate of lime, and allow 
it to settle. This only requires a few minutes, and it will be 
found that most of the impurities are carried down to the 
bottom. The supernatant water is now filtered without any 
trouble through absorbent cotton. Ordinary cotton will answer 
