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TESTS  OF  BALSAM  OF  COPAIBA. 
calamus,  the  rinds  of  citrons,  oranges  and  limes,  and  wormwood. 
— Lond.  Ohem.  Gazette,  from  Sitzungsber.  du  Kaiserl.  Alcad.  du 
Wiss.,  ix.  p.  313. 
TESTS  TO  ASCERTAIN  THE  GENUINENESS  OF  BALSAM  OF 
COPAIBA. 
By  M.  Guibourt. 
M.  Guibourt,  being  one  of  a  commission  appointed  by  the 
"  &cole  de  Pharmacie  de  Paris  "  to  examine  and  report  on  the 
quality  of  the  copaiba  contained  in  the  capsules  manufactured  in 
such  great  variety  at  the  present  day,  took  advantage  of  the  op- 
portunity to  examine  the  different  samples  of  this  drug  found  in 
commerce,  so  as  to  find  the  best  means  of  recognizing  the  purity 
of  this  vegetable  product. 
Copaiba  is  not  the  product  of  a  single  tree,  but  is  drawn  from 
seven  or  eight  species  of  Copaifera  growing  in  America,  from  the 
Brazils  to  Mexico  and  the  Antilles.  Thus  it  happens,  that  this 
oleo-resinous  balsam  may  vary  very  much  in  its  consistence, 
color,  odor,  and  even  in  its  chemical  characters  and  composition, 
and,  therefore,  we  should  be  very  circumspect  before  pronouncing 
it  to  be  adulterated. 
Having  taken  a  balsam  of  known  purity  as  the  type  of  the 
best  copaiba,  and  to  serve  as  a  guide  in  the  estimation  of  the 
other  sorts,  he  adopted  the  following  tests  in  each  case,  as  charac- 
teristic of  good  copaiba: — 
One  part  of  the  balsam  mixed  with  2  parts  sulphuric  ether. 
One  part  of  the  balsam  mixed  with  2  parts  absolute  alcohol. 
One  part  of  the  balsam  mixed  with  10  parts  spirit  of  wine. 
One  part  of  the  balsam  mixed  with  2-5ths  of  its  weight  of  pure 
strong  solution  of  ammonia,  at  60°  Fahr. 
One  part  of  the  balsam  mixed  with  l-16th  of  its  weight  of  re- 
cently calcined  magnesia,  and  triturated  some  time  in  a  mortar ; 
then  introduced  into  a  bottle,  and  corked. 
One  part  of  the  balsam  treated  in  the  same  manner,  with  one- 
fourth  its  weight  of  carbonate  of  magnesia. 
One  or  two  drachms  of  the  balsam  boiled  in  three  or  four 
pints  of  water,  till  the  liquid  is  reduced  to  half  a  pint. 
From  a  great  variety  of  samples,  all  treated  in  the  same  man- 
ner, the  Professor  deduces  the  following  conclusions : — 
