NEW  VARIETY  OF  BALSAM  OF  COPAIBA. 
537 
more  of  charcoal,  over  which  is  placed  a  layer  of  woollen  or  other 
fabric,  and  over  it  a  perforated  partition,  on  to  which  the  spirit 
to  be  filtered  is  poured  ;  the  filter  is  kept  covered,  and  in  order 
that  the  spirit  may  flow  freely  into  the  compartment  of  the  filter 
below  the  filtering  materials,  a  tube  connects  such  lower  com- 
partment with  the  upper  compartment  of  the  filter,  so  that  the 
air  may  pass  freely  between  the  lower  and  upper  compartments 
of  the  filter.  On  each  of  the  several  strata  above  described,  it  is 
desirable  to  place  a  layer  of  filtering  paper. 
The  charcoal  suitable  for  the  above  purpose  is  not  such  as  is 
obtained  in  the  ordinary  mode  of  preparation.  It  is  placed  in  a 
retort  or  oven,  and  heated  to  a  red-heat  until  the  blue  flame  has 
passed  off,  and  the  flame  become  red.  The  charcoal  is  then  cooled 
in  water,  in  which  carbonate  of  potash  has  previously  been  dis- 
solved, in  the  proportion  of  two  ounces  of  carbonate  to  fifty 
gallons  of  water.  The  charcoal  being  deprived  of  the  water  is 
then  reduced  to  a  granular  state,  in  which  condition  it  is  ready 
for  use. — Annals  of  Pharmacy,  August,  1854. 
NEW  VARIETY  OF  BALSAM  OF  COPAIBA. 
By  Mr.  Charles  Lowe, 
Assistant  in  the  Royal  Institution  Laboratory,  Manchester. 
An  organic  fluid  was  lately  placed  in  my  hands  by  Mr.  Grace 
Calvert  for  examination,  which  he  had  received  from  an  oil  mer- 
chant of  this  city,  who*  stated  that  all  he  knew  of  the  substance 
was,  that  it  was  obtained  by  the  incision  of  a  certain  tree  grow- 
ing on  the  coast  of  India.  From  the  characters  it  presents  I 
have  ascertained  it  to  be  a  balsam  of  copaiba,  but  as  it  differs  in 
some  of  its  properties  from  other  balsams  that  I  have  examined, 
I  forward  you  the  following  notice,  in  hopes  that  it  may  prove 
interesting  to  some  of  your  numerous  readers. 
In  appearance  this  balsam  of  copaiba  is  dark  colored  and  tur- 
bid. Its  turbidity  is  due  to  a  greenish  resinous  matter,  held  in 
suspension,  which  is,  however,  easily  separable,  either  by  filtra- 
tion or  deposition,  leaving  a  brown  transparent  liquid  of  sp.  gr. 
0.970.  When  the  latter  fluid  is  submitted  to  a  careful  distilla- 
tion it  yields 
