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ON THE CASTOREUM OF SIBERIA. 
ART. LX.— EXAMINATION OF THE CASTOREUM OF SIBERIA. 
By Fr. Muller. 
M. Muller some time since prepared a tincture of 
castor according to the Prussian Pharmacopoeia, with one 
ounce of the Siberian castor to six ounces of alcohol. He 
was surprised at the great quantity of insoluble residue of 
an earthy aspect, and suspected a falsification, and exa- 
mined with care the composition of this specimen of the 
drug. 
It had been bought for good castor of Siberia, and accord- 
ing to its exterior aspect it would pass for such. — It had a 
considerable specific gravity, 1.515; it had a compact tex- 
ture; it presented only on the exterior, and in several places, 
the thin membrane, which did not extend into the interior of 
the sack ; and it had a deep blackish brown colour which 
grew lighter towards the interior, and presented at the cen- 
tre a yellowish grey nucleus. Its odour and taste were de- 
cidedly those of good castor. 
The result of the chemical examination of 100 parts was: 
45.833 of resin and essential oil dissolved by alcohol. 
2.256 of a soft resin dissolved by ether. 
40.646 of carbonate of lime. 
1.S00 of gummy matter extracted by water. 
8.125 of celular tissue. 
1.340 — loss. 
100.000. 
The results of chemists, on the proportion of the carbo- 
nate of lime in the two sorts of castor differ so much that 
they will not serve to judge of their purity; some admitting 
a greater amount of the calcarious salt in the Siberian than 
in the Canadian variety, and others giving the contrary 
opinion. The degree of dryness is undoubtedly a very im- 
