78 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[July 23, 1870. 
year. The mean monthly range of the thermometer 
during the winter is stated to he 7° 6' at St. Michael’s, 
against 12° at Madeira,—showing that, while the St. 
Michael’s winter is only 2° colder than that at Madeira, 
it is more equable, or, at any rate, not less so. The 
south and westerly winds are soft, relaxing, and warm ; 
the north-easterly are colder and more bracing, but never 
keen and thin. The extent of the surrounding ocean, 
and the mildness of the temperature, naturally cause the 
climate to be extremely humid ; in fact, the state of the 
atmosphere has been frequently compared to that on 
board a ship at sea ; but this condition of the air is not 
productive of disease, nor is it even a source of incon¬ 
venience to those who are in tolerable health. The na¬ 
tive poor, who are exposed to it all their lives, and whose 
cottages (rarely possessing glass windows and invariably 
having earthen floors) are not at all calculated to resist 
its influence, are a healthy, robust, and handsome race. 
Neither cholera nor yellow fever has ever visited the 
islands, and epidemics of any kind are almost unknown. 
Owing to the same causes which produce the humidity, 
a cloudless sky is very rare ; and this adds considerably 
to the advantages of the Azores as a place of residence 
for an invalid, as the direct heat of the sun does not pre¬ 
vent a person in delicate health from spending the 
greater part of the day in the open air. Added to these 
advantages there are wonderful mineral springs with 
which Madeira has nothing to compete. The striking 
volcanic conformation of the islands is worthy of the 
study of geologists, and the magnificent scenery would 
afford endless opportunities to the artist; yet, Consul 
Monson adds, even to the inhabitants of the mainland of 
Portugal they remain almost a terra incognita , while to 
the world at large they are as remote and mysterious as 
were the Hesperides to the civilized world in the classic 
days of Greece and Rome.— Tall Mall Gazette. 
Hay-Asthma.—A correspondent in the ‘ Lancet ’ 
reports the case of a patient who has for several years 
suffered from this malady, but found no permanent re¬ 
lief from any of the usual remedies. The following 
treatment, however, proved efficacious :—A small barrel 
of sea-weed, taken fresh from the shore, was given to 
the patient to sniff whenever an attack came on. Five 
minutes’ inhalation of the sea-weed sufficed to stop the 
symptoms, after which the barrel was securely closed, 
and placed in a cellar for future use. It is suggested, 
that the active principle of the sea-weed should (to ob¬ 
viate the cumbrous device of the barrel) be concentrated, 
Like salts, in a smelling-bottle; and this idea has been 
carried out with success. Such a pocket-companion 
might prove serviceable to those whose liability to hay- 
asthma is not proof against the odour of the flowers 
which decorate dinner-tables and drawing-rooms. Sea¬ 
weed should be brought up fresh from the shore by rail, 
and kept for use in hospitals where strumous affections 
are treated,—an application of the inutilis alga which 
might be of benefit to other patients, who would fain, if 
they could afford it, “suffer a sea-change.” 
Granular Citrate of Magnesia (effervescent). 
—H. C. Archibald gives the following formula :— 
Take of Acid. Citric. . . 4 lbs. 
Magnesise Calc. . 1^ ,, 
Sodas Bicarb. . .3 ,, 
Acid. Tart. . . . 3 „ 
Pulv. Sacch. Alb. . 6 „ 
01. Limon. . . . fl. oz. 
Alcohol Fort. . . q.s. 
Powder the citric acid and add the sugar: mix 
thoroughly, then add the soda, magnesia, and tartaric 
acid. Pass the whole through a No. 40 sieve three 
times; moisten with strong alcohol and pass through a 
No. 8 sieve ; place it on a wooden tray to dry, then add 
oil of lemons and bottle instantly. It usually takes 
twenty-four hours and a temperature of 120° F. to dry 
the salt perfectly.— American Journal of Pharmacy. 
Brown Hair Dye. —The hyposulphite of lead, dis¬ 
solved in excess of hyposulphite of soda, forms a hair- 
dye which gradually becomes brown from absorption of 
oxygen and deposit of sulphuret of lead on the hair. 
The following formula for the preparation of this dye, is 
given in the ‘ American Journal of Parmacy:’— 
Acetate of Lead .... 5ij 
Hyposulphite of Soda . . §j 
Rose (or other Perfumed) 
. Water.§xiv 
Glycerine.f^ij : 
Dissolve the acetate of lead and hyposulphite of soda in 
separate portions of water, filter separately, mix the 
solutions, and add the glycerine. 
Death from Escape of Gas. —An inquest was held 
last week, at Haverstock Hill on the body of Charles 
Lawley, aged sixteen, son of a reporter on the ‘Field,’ 
who was found on Wednesday suffocated in bed. The 
gas-burner in deceased’s bedroom was found broken off 
from the joint, and the room was full of gas. How the 
joint got broken off is unknown. The jury returned a 
verdict of “Accidentally suffocated with gas.”— Standard. 
[*** Probably the cause of death was poisoning by 
carbonic oxi le, which exists abundantly in gas; ethy¬ 
lene, which likewise occurs, is very poisonous.— Ed. 
Ph. J.] 
Eucalyptus Oil. —The essential oil of eucalyptus 
now being introduced into use in perfumery by Mr. 
Rimmel, has lately been examined by Cloetz. He took 
the product of Eucalyptus globulus , originally a native of 
Tasmania, where it was discovered by Labillardiere, in 
the year 1792. It has since been acclimatized on the 
shores of the Mediterranean. From 10 kilogrammes of 
fresh leaves of the plant, 275 grammes of the essential oil 
were obtained by distillation with water. In another 
experiment about double the quantity of oil was obtained. 
The oil is very fluid, almost devoid of colour, and having 
a smell analogous to that of camphor. It begins to boil at 
170° C., and rises in boiling-point as the distillation pro¬ 
ceeds, until above 200°. The more volatile liquid, after 
purification with caustic potash and with fused chloride 
of calcium, boils regularly at 175° C.,—this is eucalyptol. 
Its specific gravity at 8° C. is 0‘905 ; it deflects the ray 
of polarized light to the right; it does not freeze; its 
vapour, mixed with air, is fresh, agreeable when inhaled, 
and has been employed as a therapeutic agent; it is 
hardly soluble in water, but very soluble in alcohol; its 
alcoholic solution, when highly diluted, is said to afford 
a perfume equal to the rose. The composition of euca¬ 
lyptol is represented by the formula C 12 IL 0 O (vapour 
density 6 - 22). By the action of anhydrous phosphoric 
acid upon it, a liquid hydrocarbon of the formula C 12 H jg , 
and named eucalyptene, has been obtained. This liquid 
boils regularly at 165° C., and has a sp. gr. of 0 - 835 at 
12° C. Its vapour density is 5 - 3. It is derived from 
eucalyptol by the loss of the elements of water. At 
the same time a polymer of eucalyptene is produced. 
This liquid boils at temperatures above 300° C. Decom¬ 
position of the substance at the high temperature required 
for the determination of its vapour density, prevented 
a determination of that important datum. The name 
eucalyptolene is proposed for it. The behaviour of euca¬ 
lyptol towards hydrochloric acid gas is very interesting. 
Cooled to zero and then treated with a current of dry 
hydrochloric acid gas, it absorbs the gas abundantly and 
solidifies to form a mass of crystals. Very soon, how¬ 
ever, these crystals undergo spontaneous decomposition, 
and are resolved into an aqueous solution of hydrochloric 
acid and a hydrocarbon, boiling about 168° C., and appa¬ 
rently identical with eucalyptene. In chemical history, 
therefore, eucalyptol resembles camphor, of which it 
appears to be a homologue—two steps higher in the 
series.— Repertoire de Pharmacie. 
