104 
Pure  Spermaceti. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X    February,  1897. 
tain  tinctures  can  in  a  general  way  be  made  as  reasonably  (or  even 
cheaper)  from  the  fluid  extract,  and  with  greater  uniformity  than 
from  the  drug.  Of  course,  you  are  at  liberty  to  use  this  letter  in 
your  society  if  my  personal  opinion  will  be  of  service.  Bear 
in  mind  that  the  subject  is  considered  in  a  rambling  way  and  super- 
ficially, but  still  it  voices  opinions  gained  by  more  than  a  little 
thought  in  this  direction.  Very  sincerely  yours, 
John  Uri  Lloyd. 
PURE  SPERMACETI. 
By  Lyman  F.  Kebler. 
About  a  year  ago,  the  writer  presented1  some  data  on  the  ques- 
tion of  spermaceti.  The  conclusions  arrived  at  then  raised  a  ques- 
tion concerning  the  absolute  purity  of  the  material  operated  on. 
While  it  was  impossible  to  state  that  the  spermaceti  was  absolutely 
pure,  yet  there  was  every  reason  to  think  that  such  was  the  case. 
In  order  to  settle  the  question  as  completely  as  possible,  specimens 
of  spermaceti  were  secured  as  close  to  the  natural  source  as  the 
nature  of  the  case  permitted.  To  bring  this  about  most  effectually, 
every  person  who  was  likely  to  be  in  a  position  to  secure  a  sample 
of  pure  material  was  interviewed,  either  personally  or  through  corre- 
spondence. The  original  producers  were  also  requested  to  furnish 
samples  that  they  were  willing  to  guarantee  absolutely  pure.  This 
they  cheerfully  did. 
By  the  above  procedure,  three  specimens  were  received  from  the 
Pacific  Coast,  through  the  kindness  of  Prof.  W.  R.  Searby,  of  San 
Francisco,  Cal.  Prof.  E.  L.  Patch,  kindly  secured  a  sample  himself 
at  New  Bedford,  Mass.  Profs.  J.  P.  Remington  and  W.  R.  Scoville 
each  obtained  a  sample  from  the  same  source,  through  friends  closely 
connected  with  the  spermaceti  trade  there.  The  writer  himself 
secured  five  samples  from  the  original  producers,  with  guarantees  of 
absolute  purity.  Dr.  Chas.  Rice  also  assisted  in  the  way  of  sugges- 
tions. No.  12  was  a  specimen  obtained  by  melting  together  several 
samples  taken  from  a  purchase  of  2,000  pounds.  These  specimens, 
coming  directly  from  the  centres  of  supply  of  the  United  States,  can 
reasonably  be  expected  to  be  pure,  at  least  purer  material  cannot  be 
secured  in  this  country. 
1  1896,  Am.  Jour.  Pharm.,  68,  7. 
