407 
Liebreich, O., discusses the history and uses of castor oil and 
reports on a sample of Caucasian oil that was at least 8 years 
old. He found the specific gravity to be 0.9632 at 17.5° C., the 
iodine number 84.3, the saponification number 173.7, and the acid 
number 3.6. — Therap. Monatsh. Berl., 1906, v. 20, p. 444. 
Spiegel, L., discusses the chemistry of ricin and quotes Maquenne 
and Philippe as giving the melting point 201.5 and the formula 
C s H 8 X 2 0o. — B iochem. Centralbl., Leipz., 1906-7, v. 5, p. 164. 
Dieterich, Karl, reports on 14 samples of castor oil. The iodine 
number was found to vary from 82.47 to 86.28 ; the acid number 
varied from 1.68 to 5.04. Five of the 14 samples were objected to as 
not complying with the requirements. — Helfenberger Annalen, 1905, 
1906, v. 18, p. 80. 
Baird, J. TY, reports 37 samples examined in 1904, 2 adulterated. — 
Proc. Massachusetts Pharrn. Ass., 1906, p. 59. 
Cline, R. R. D., suggests washing castor oil to free it from the ob- 
jectionable odor and taste. He uses 2 or 3 per cent solution of com- 
mon table salt, repeating until the oil is practically free from odor. 
He suggests treating tlie oil with exsiccated calcium sulphate to ab- 
sorb the retained water. — Texas Pharm. Ass., 1906, p. 17. 
Moore, J. B., presents suggestions for disguising the taste of castor 
oil and discusses the methods of preparing agreeable mixtures con- 
taining this oil.- — Proc. Pennsylvania Pharm. Ass., 1906, pp. 237-242. 
An answer to a correspondent presents several formulas for mix- 
tures of castor oil and also a number of references to previous pub- 
lications on the same subject. — Drug. Circ. & Chem. Gaz., N. Y., 
1906, v. 50, p. 135. 
An editorial calls attention to the use of the well-known “ sar- 
saparilla method ” of disguising castor oil, and states that anisette 
has been found useful for this purpose. — N. York M. J., 1906, v. 84, 
p. 138. 
Bierbaum, K., (Dessertation Giessen, 1906) questions the very 
poisonous character which Ricinus communis has hitherto been sup- 
posed to possess. He gave as much as 100 gm. per day to a horse 
without any ill effect. He is now studying the differences of re- 
sistance in animals of the same kind. — Abstr. in Merck’s Ann. Rep., 
1906, Darmstadt, 1907, v. 20, p. 211. 
Watkins says ricinus is the remedy when we desire a movement of 
the bowels not followed by diarrhoea. — Eclectic Med. J., Cincin., 1906, 
v. 66, p. 595. 
OLEUM SABINiE. 
Schimmel & Co. point out that there exist considerable differences 
between the savin oils of German and British origin on the one hand 
and the French distillate on the other, and refer to a report by 
Umney and Bennett, who assert that the difference is due to the oils 
