ADULTERATIONS IN ESSENTIAL OILS. 599 
ministered, and that, on the contrary, they speedily recover 
under the influence of this medicament. 
If these facts are confirmed by other experiments, M. 
Polli will have rendered an inestimable service to therapeutics, 
and will have thrown some light on the still obscure origin of 
numerous diseases .—Chemical News. 
ON THE DETECTION OE ADULTERATIONS IN ESSENTIAL 
OILS. 
From an article, by Dr. Bolley, in the Journal de Pharmacie 
et de Chimie , for the detection of adulterations in the essential 
oils, we extract the following : 
“Among the substances most commonly employed for the 
purpose of adulteration are alcohol, fatty oils, and resinous 
matter; but volatile oils are also frequently employed, as oil 
of turpentine, rosemary, &c. 
“ I. Alcohol, when mixed in considerable proportion with 
essential oils, is easy to detect. It is only necessary to shake 
up the suspected substance with water in a graduated tube, and 
then let it remain quiet for some time. The true volume of 
the oil will be shown by the removal of the alcohol, whilst 
the bulk of the water is increased. 
“ M. Borsarelli proposes to pour the suspected oil into a 
graduated glass tube, and then to introduce gradually small 
pieces of perfectly dry chloride of calcium. The tube is then 
to be closed, placed in a water bath for four or five minutes, 
shaking it several times. The chloride of calcium dissolves 
in the alcohol and thereby diminishes the layer of oil. If the 
alcohol is only present in small quantity, the chloride merely 
becomes moist and pasty; if none is present, the salt remains 
dry and unchanged. 
“ M. Bernouilli, instead of chloride of calcium, proposes 
acetate of potash, which, employed in the same way, dissolves 
in the alcohol, but undergoes no change in pure essential oils. 
“The presence of alcohol in essential oils may also be 
recognised by shaking them with olive oil, which dissolves 
them readily, leaving the alcohol floating on the surface. 
“ II. The presence of alcoholic soap is easily recognised by 
the froth which forms on shaking the oil. If an acid is 
added to it a fatty matter is precipitated, generally in the 
solid state, and the liquid on which the oil floats contains, in 
addition to the acid which has been added, the alkali removed 
from the soap. 
