March 16, 1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
747 
Calculated. Found. 
Carbon. 80-00 80-10 
Hydrogen. . . . 9-33 9-62 
Oxygen .... 10'66 — 
100-00 
Two determinations of the vapour-density were made. 
Difference between weight of air 
and vapour. 0-2425 0*2897 grm. 
Temperature of balance case . . 12° C. 12° C. 
'Temperature of sealing .... 277° C. 259° C. 
'Capacity of globe.97’2 c.c. 115-3 c.c. 
.Residual air.2*6 c.c. 1-3 c.c. 
Calculated density of vapour . . 5 - 98 5*94 
These are both rather above the calculated density, 
namely, 5-29. 
The hydrosulphate forms very readily, giving silky 
needle-shaped crystals of great beauty. 0-442 grm., ox¬ 
idized by nitric acid, gave 0-306 of sulphate of barium. 
*0-2227 grm., oxidized by hydrate of potassium and chlorine, 
gave 0-1605 grm. of sulphate of barium. These deter¬ 
minations give respectively 9-80 and 9*89 per cent, of 
sulphur, instead of 9-58. 
As the composition of these crystals seemed to be the 
.same as that of the hydrosulphate of carvol, and yet 
they yield a different oil on treatment with alkali, their 
relative solubility in ether was examined. At 23° C. one 
part of the hydrosulphate from the three sources required 
•the following- amount of ether to dissolve it:— 
From Caraway .... 226 parts. 
„ Dill. 279 ,, 
„ Spearmint. . . . 216 „ 
Myristicol. —This oil has the characteristic smell of 
nutmeg, and, unlike the preceding oils, it does not form 
n crystalline compound with hydrosulphuric acid. 
It was found very difficult to purify it by fractional 
•distillation; indeed there was some reason to think that 
in the process of rectification it was subject to change. 
An ultimate analysis of portions boiling at somewhere 
about 220° C. yielded rather too much carbon and hydro¬ 
gen for the formula C 10 H 14 O, suggesting the idea of its 
•being still mixed with some amount of a hydrocarbon. 
'The vapour-density was determined. 
Difference between weight of air and 
vapour.0-2512 grm. 
Temperature of balance case . . . . 9° C. 
Temperature of sealing. 259° C. 
Capacity of globe.99-8 c.c. 
Residual air.0-6 c.c. 
Calculated density of vapour . . . . 5-71. 
This shows at least that myristicol belongs to the C 10 , 
.-and not the C l5 , or any other group. It accords with 
theory better than the numbers obtained for menthol do ; 
and the other physical properties resemble those of car¬ 
vol and menthol so closely that there can be little doubt 
it is isomeric with them. 
Cassia. 
The extremely refractive and dispersive properties of 
oil of cassia have long been known to physicists. They 
•depend on a substance that is now recognized as hydride 
of cinnamyl C 9 H s O. A careful preparation of this was 
made by the sulphite of sodium process, and it gave the 
•enormous refraction of 1-6045 for A at 11°C. As the 
specific gravity was 1-059, the refraction-equivalent of 
'the oil was 75-3, being an excess of 17 over the equiva¬ 
lent calculated from its ultimate composition. This ex¬ 
cess is greater than that of any other substance known 
"to me, except anthracene, and may, perhaps, throw some 
light on the molecular constitution of the compound. 
This interesting question of the refraction equivalents of 
these hydrocarbons and oxidized oils has already been 
referred to in a paper published in our Journal for 
May, 1870, and I shall probably some day revert to the 
•subject. 
Other Oxidized Oils. 
In addition to the substances already described, there 
are several oxidized compounds which have been sepa¬ 
rated more or less perfectly, and have been examined in 
regard to their physical properties, though they have 
not been analysed. 
1 
Oxidized Oil, from 
Specific 
gravity. 
Boiling- 
point. 
Refractive 
Index A. 
Dispersion. 
Sensitive¬ 
ness. 
Rotation. 
Rose. 
0-881 
216° 
1-4647 
•0283 
47 
_ 
Indian geranium . . . 
0-884 
— 
1-4692 
•0295 
59 
— 3 
Atherosperma Moschatum 
1-0386 
224° 
1"5143 
•0460 
46 
+ 10 
Lign Aloes. 
0-8640 
200° 
1-4601 
•0260 
— 
— 
IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PREPARING EMULSIONS 
OF LIGHTER VOLATILE OILS, ETC. 
BY J. WINCHELL EOBBES. 
Of all the processes incident to extemporaneous phar¬ 
macy, there is, perhaps, no one so vexatious and tiresome 
as the preparation of an emulsion, especially one con¬ 
taining chloroform, ether, or one of the lighter volatile 
oils, and any improvement upon the usual “ elbow- 
grease” method will, I am confident, meet with a hearty 
welcome from every practical apothecary. 
In order to illustrate, let us imagine the following- 
recipe handed to an apothecary for preparation:— 
01. Terebinth. 
Mucil. Acacim ana ^j. 
M. ft. Emulsio S.A. 
“Secundum artem.” Very good, and what is the 
law of the art ? 
In the articles upon mixtures in the U. S. Dispensa¬ 
tory, it is directed that when gum acacia is specified as 
the intermedium of an emulsion, it shall be brought 
“previously ” into the form of U. S. P. mucilage. 
At the risk of being considered presumptuous, I take 
the liberty of flatly contradicting this direction, disre¬ 
garding the “ previously ” and proceeding as follows :—• 
First. Pour the turpentine into a two-ounce vial, 
and shaking so as to coat the inside of the vial with a 
film of turpentine; this is to prevent the action of the 
moisture usually present. 
Secondly. I add 9j powdered acacia, and mix tho¬ 
roughly with the oil. 
Lastly. Half a fluid ounce of water is added and the 
whole is well shaken. A perfect emulsion is the result, 
requiring less time for its preparation than to read the 
foregoing directions. The bottle may then be filled up 
with mucilage, or, according to my experience, a better 
product is obtained with water simply. 
The deviation from the letter of the law in regard to 
the gum strength of the emulsion needs no apology to 
the practical pharmacist, as the sole object in view is to 
emulse the oil, and it will be foimd that ten grains to 
the fluid ounce of emulsion will afford a product superior 
in all respects (especially in fluidity) to one containing 
more gum, and more nearly approaching the peculiar 
characteristics of that most perfect of all emulsions— 
cows’ milk. 
An emulsion of turpentine prepared in this manner 
and allowed to stand some time, shows not the least 
separation of its oil, but floating on the surface of the 
water is a stratum of a true “ cream,” which, like its 
prototype, requires but slight agitation to mix thoroughly 
with its substratum. 
I have for some time past kept an emulsion of oil of 
turpentine prepared as above, containing half its volume 
of oil, for use in dispensing, and as the oil is perfectlv 
emulscd, its incorporation in any desired amount of 
mixture or vehicle requires no more labour or skill than 
