258 
ON THE HEAVY OIL OF WINE. 
34 lbs. alcohol (about 5 gallons) at 17 shillings sterling 
per gallon, ------ 
- $18 70 
68 lbs. oil of vitriol, at 2| cents per pound, - 
1 7U 
Labor, fire, packing, bottle, &c, 
1 50 
Cost of 17 oz. oil, to the English manufacturer, 
- $21 90 
Or per pound, 
Cost of making 1 lb. pure oil in England, 
- $20 61 
Manufacturer's profit, say 10 per cent., 
2 06 
Wholesale price in England, - 
- $22 67 
Duties paid by importer, 30 per cent., 
- 6 80 
Charges paid by importer, 10 per cent., 
- 2 26 
Cost of importation, - 
- $31 73 
Profit on importation, - 
3 27 
Wholesale price of the imported oil, 
- $35 00 
I regret that I have been unable to find the price 
of pure oil of 
wine quoted in the lists of any of the manufacturing chemists, but 
think it fair to infer that if the article is offered for sale, of Eng- 
lish manufacture, at less than $2 per ounce, that impurity or adul- 
teration may be suspected, and in this case I would recommend 
the following process for testing its purity. 
Agitate a small portion of the oil in a test tube, with an equal 
measure of water. If it dissolves, reject the sample as impure, 
but if the mixture separates into two portions, after standing at rest 
for a few moments, put it on a paper filter, previously well moist- 
ened with water. The water in the mixture will pass through the 
moistened filter, leaving ether or oil upon it. If this is colorless 
or very pale yellow, it should be exposed a few hours to spontane- 
ous evaporation, to ascertain if it contains oil. But if it is yellow 
and heavier than water, this portion may consist of oil of wine; 
this, however, should be verified by observing the odor and sp. gr. 
of the oil. By carefully operating upon a known quantity in the 
above manner, the proportion of alcohol or ether (if present) may 
be easily determined. 
As the efficacy of Hoffman's Anodyne is due to the heavy oil of 
wine contained in it, and as the proportion of this oil to the other 
