564 
VARIETIES. 
There  were  also  passed  through  the  Custom  House  for  home  consumption 
in  1852— 
Pomatums,  procured  by  enfleurage  maceration,  &c,  commonly 
called  "  French  Pomatums,"  average  value  of  6s. 
per  pound,  and  paying  a  duty   of  Is.  per  pound,  valued 
"by  the  importers  at  .        .        .        .        .  £l,30G 
Perfumery  not  otherwise  described;  value   .        .        .  1,920 
Bottles  of  eau  de  Cologne,  paying  a  duty  of  Is.  each*      .     19,  777 
Revenue  from  eau  de  Cologne  manufactured  out  of  England  say  20,000 
flacons  at  8c?!.      8,000?.  annually. 
The  total  revenue  derived  from  various  sources,  even  upon  these  low  scale 
of  duties,  from  the  substances  with  which  "  Britannia  perfumes  her  pocket 
handkerchief,"  cannot  be  estimated  at  less  than  40,000?  annum.  This,  of 
course,  includes  the  duty  upon  the  spirits  used  in  the  home  manufacture 
of  perfumery. 
The  ridiculous  assertion  which  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair  has  made  in  his  lec- 
tures, and  published  in  the  "  Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts,"  in  "House- 
hold Words,"  and  "  Chambers's  Journal,"  viz.,  that  "the  main  source  of 
the  essences  used  for  perfumery  were  derived  from  the  drainings  of  cow 
houses,"  is  emphatically  contradicted  by  the  books  of  her  Majesty's  Hon- 
orable Board  of  Customs,  independent  of  any  chemical  proof  to  the  con- 
trary. Such  "clap-trap  science"  is  unworthy  of  philosophy.— Annals  of 
Pharmacy. 
The  Seeds  of  Asparagus  a  Substitute  for  Coffee. — Baron  Liebig  has  dis- 
covered that  the  seeds  of  asparagus  contain  large  portions  of  taurine 
analogous  to  that  which  is  found  in  coffee,  and  therefore  may  be  found  a 
substitute  for  that  delicious  and  universally-adopted  beverage.  They  have 
been  tested  in  England,  and  found  to  possess  all  the  richness,  flavor  and 
aroma  of  the  best  Mocha  coffee.  This  will  be  interesting  information  to 
the  consumers  of  coffee,  as  the  imported  article  now  commands  an  exorbi- 
tant price  in  our  markets,  while  the  asparagus  is  easily  cultivated  and  pro- 
lific in  its  yield. — Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  July  19,  1854. 
Alum  as  an  Emetic. — Besides  the  great  usefulness  of  alum  as  an  emetic 
for  croup,  it  has  been  found  in  one  case  more  efficient  in  poisoning  by 
opium  than  the  sulphate  of  zinc.  The  patient  had  swallowed  an  ounce  of 
powdered  opium !  Thirty  grains  of  sulphate  of  zinc  were  given  him  without 
effect,  when  Dr.  Meigs,  being  called  in,  he  gave  him  half  an  ounce  of  pow- 
dered alum,  which,  with  three  tumblers  of  warm  water,  caused  copious  vomit- 
ing. After  a  short  period  this  treatment  was  repeated  with  a  like  effect,  and 
the  patient  recovered.  This  case  shows  the  powerful  emetic  properties  of 
alum,  which  should  be  remembered  in  cases  of  emergency. — Memphis 
Medical  Recorder. 
*  The  duty  on  eau  de  Cologne  is  now,  according  to  the  last  tariff,  8d}  per  flacon, 
or  20s.  per  gallon. 
