200 
STEAROPTENE  OF   OIL  OF  MONARDA  PUNCTATA. 
Remarks. — Owing  to  the  slight  solubility  of  the  resulting  sul- 
phate of  potash,  and  the  small  quantity  of  water  employed  to 
effect  the  interchange  of  elements,  but  little  of  that  salt  is 
contained  in  the  syrup.  The  object  of  the  iron  filings  is  to 
saturate  any  free  iodine  that  may  be  eliminated  during  the  ex- 
posure consequent  on  the  gradual  reaction  of  the  salts.  The  use 
of  either  distilled,  or  cold  recently  boiled,  water,  is  necessary  to 
obviate  the  effect  of  air  on  the  iodides.  It  is  necessary  to  allow 
sufficient  time  for  the  complete  decomposition  of  the  sulphate  of 
iron,  else  the  syrup  will  be  contaminated  with  it.  The  proper 
moment  to  lixiviate  the  sulphate  is  known  by  the  cessation  of  the 
crystallization  of  the  sulphate  of  potash.  The  bottle  should  be 
shaken  from  time  to  time  during  the  filtration  to  protect  the  filtered 
solution,  and  the  washing  process  should  be  stopped  as  soon  as 
the  sulphate  ceases  to  have  a  well-marked  taste  of  the  iodides. 
Practically  in  this,  as  in  all  cases  where  syrups  are  made  by 
agitation,  and  are  not  to  be  filtered,  it  is  best  to  use  pure  lump  su- 
gar, and  coarsely  powder  it  for  the  occasion,  as  the  commercial 
powdered  sugar  frequently  contains  dusty  impurities.  The  prepa- 
ration when  finished  has  a  very  pale  straw  color  ;  if  the  salts  have 
not  been  all  decomposed  before  the  washing,  the  syrup  will  have 
a  greenish  color,  and  subsequently  deposit  crystals  of  sulphate  of 
potash  by  standing. 
ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  STEAROPTENE  OF  OIL  OF  MONARDA 
PUNCTATA,  AND  ON  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  OXALIC  ACID 
FROM  IT  BY  THE  ACTION  OF  NITRIC  ACID. 
By  Charles  T.  Bonsall. 
(An  Inaugural  Essay,  presented  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy.') 
When  the  essential  oil  of  Monarda  punctata  is  exposed  to  a 
temperature  of  about  40°  F.,  in  the  presence  of  moisture,  it  is 
transformed  into  a  stearoptene,  which  has  received  from  Mr. 
Procter  the  appellation  of  monardin, — a  name  that  ought 
scarcely  to  be  applied,  as  it  would  seem  to  indicate  that  it  wTas 
the  active  ingredient  of  the  oil,  while  it  is  in  its  nature  a  true 
camphor.  This  substance  separated  from  the  oil,  and  distilled 
over  dry  chloride  of  calcium,  crystallizes  in  large  oblique  rhom- 
