Am  .Tour.  Pharm. ) 
Jan.,  1881.  / 
Notes  on  Patchouli. 
23 
"  The  salicylic  acid  is  used.  It  is  in  the  shape  of  a  powder,  and  a  great 
preventive  against  perspiring  and  sore  feet. 
"  Composition. 
"  Acid  salicylic,  .  .  .        3  parts. 
"Amylum,  .  .  .10 
"  Powder  of  talcum,        .  .  .87 
"  It  is  applied  dry ;  on  a  march  daily;  in  garrison  every  two  or  three 
days.  It  takes  off  the  irritating  influence  of  the  j^erspiration  of  the  feet, 
and  prevents  in  consequence  the  soreness. 
"  In  the  Italian  army  anise-seed  and  '  Zambuco'  are  similarly  used  in  hot 
weather. 
Russia. 
"Citric  acid  was  not  used  by  the  imperial  troops  during  the  Russo- 
Turkish  war,  but  was  first  employed  last  year  to  make  palatable  and  whole- 
some a  quantity  of  spoilt  cabbage.  It  helps  considerably  the  progress  of 
fermentation  in  making  the  soup  known  as  '  stchi.' 
"  It  has  also  been  employed  lately  by  the  troops  on  service  in  Central 
Asia  to  make  drinkable  the  brackish  water  found  in  the  desert. 
"  The  amount  served  out  is  one  pound  per  hundred  men,  supplied  in  its 
crystallized  state,  but  it  is  only  under  exceptional  circumstances  that  the 
acid  is  employed  in  the  inijierial  army. 
"Citric  acid  has  never  been  used  in  Russia  in  case  of  scurvy  ;  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be  too  weak  to  act  as  a  curative,  or  even  as  a  preventive  against 
that  disease,  and  would  require,  at  all  events,  vegetables  and  fresh  meat  to 
be  of  any  use  under  such  circumstances. 
"  The  acid  in  question  is  made  of  Italian  lemons  in  the  military  medicine 
establishment ;  there  is  no  special  factory  for  it  in  Russia,  nor  is  it  ini^^orted. 
"  Salicylic  acid  appears  to  be  of  no  use  whatever  as  a  remedy  for  foot 
sores ;  it  is  used  only  as  a  disinfectant,  but  has  no  curative  properties. 
"  Bandages  are  steeped  in  salicylic  acid  to  prevent  infection." 
— Phar,  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Nov.  20,  p.  411. 
NOTES  ON  PATCHOULI. 
By  J.  Ch.  Sawer. 
The  identity  of  the  plant  furnishing  this  perfume  has  been  the  sub- 
ject of  articles  in  this  journal  since  the  year  1844  ("Phar.  Journ./' 
[1],  vol.  iv.,  p.  80;  vol.  vi.,  p.  432;  vol.  viii.,  p.  574;  vol.  ix.,  p.  282, 
and  iv.  [3d  series],  p.  362),  but  the  first  mention  of  it  in  a  pharma- 
ceutical paper  seems  to  be  in  the  "Journal  de  Pharmacie,"  1826, 
(vol.  xii.,  p.  61).  The  first  parcel  of  the  leaf  offered  at  public  sale  in 
London  was  in  1844,  and  it  was  bought  in  at  6s.  per  lb.  Since  that 
date  the  trade  in  these  leaves  and  the  oil  has  enormously  increased, 
the  number  of  bales  imported  into  London  during  the  last  twelve 
months  having  been  from  300  to  400  bales  of  2  cwt.  each.  It  is  stated 
by  Dr.  Piesse  that  "its  consumption  in  the  perfumery  trade  of  Europe 
