568  Chemical  Examination  of  Nutmeg.     { ^eSv^im1' 
specially  considered  here.  The  opportunity  may,  however,  be  taken 
of  presenting  a  few  comments  on  the  requirements  made  for  this 
essential  oil  by  the  United  States  and  British  Pharmacopoeias. 
In  the  "  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  "  (8th  revision)  the  specific 
gravity  of  this  oil  was  given  as  0.862  to  0.910  at  25 0  C,  and  in  the 
list  of  additions  and  corrections  to  June  1,  1907,  these  figures  were 
altered  to  0.884  to  0.924.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  in  this  altera- 
tion an  error  has  been  made,  and  that  the  limits  were  intended  to  be 
placed  at  0.864  to  0.924  at  25 0  C.  (compare  the  Semi-annual  Report 
of  Schimmel  &  Co.,  Leipzig,  April,  1906,  p.  71).  The  "  British 
Pharmacopoeia "  requires  a  specific  gravity  of  0.870  to  0.910  at 
15. 5°  C,  the  German  0.890  to  0.930,  and  the  Belgian  0.865  to  0.920 
at  150  C.  The  last-mentioned  limits  would  appear  to  be  those  most 
in  accordance  with  normal  products  of  distillation.1  In  this  con- 
nection it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  present  "  German  Phar- 
macopoeia "  (4th  edition,  1900)  has  adopted  for  the  essential  oil 
of  nutmeg  ("  Aetherisches  Muskatnussol ")  the  Latin  title  of 
Oleum  Macidis.  This  not  only  involves  an  etymological  inaccuracy, 
but  also  the  assumption  that  the  essential  oils  of  nutmeg  and  mace 
are  identical  in  character  and  composition,  which  has  not  as  yet 
been  proved  to  be  the  case.  In  the  second  (1882)  and  third  (1890) 
editions  of  the  "  German  Pharmacopoeia  "  Oleum  Macidis  was  cor- 
rectly defined  as  mace  oil  ("  Mascisol  ") ,  and  the  last-mentioned 
title  and  definition  have  been  adopted  by  the  "  Swedish  Pharma- 
copoeia "  (Pharmacopcea  svecica,  ed.  VIII)  with  the  following 
requirements:  specific  gravity  at  150  C.  =  0.855  —  0.930;  optically 
dextrogyrate;  soluble  in  3  parts  of  alcohol  (see  Semi-annual  Report 
of  Schimmel  &  Co.,  April,  1902,  p.  73). 
The  "  United  States  Pharmacopoeia,"  in  its  latest  edition,  has 
introduced  a  requirement  for  oil  of  nutmeg,  evidently  adapted  from 
the  "  British  Pharmacopoeia,"  which  is  as  follows :  "  When  2  or 
3  c.c.  of  oil  are  evaporated  on  a  water-bath,  no  residue  which  crys- 
tallizes on  cooling  should  be  left."  The  purpose  of  this  test,  as 
stated  in  the  "  British  Pharmacopoeia,"  is  to  ensure  the  "  absence 
of  the  concrete  oil  of  nutmeg."  It  is  likely,  however,  to  involve 
the  exclusion  of  constituents  of  a  normal  essential  oil  which  are 
not  without  considerable  value,  for  any  crystalline  residue  which 
would  be  obtained  from  a  genuine  oil  under  these  conditions  would 
1  Compare  Allen  and  Brewis,  Pharm.  Joum.,  1901,  66,  p.  328. 
