Am,  Jour.  Pharni. 
Sept.,  1882 
GJeaningi^  hi  Materia  Medica. 
459> 
not  unfrequently  tlie  flowers  of  the  two  plants  may  be  found  mixed.. 
Inula  dysenterica,  Lin.,  which  resembles  the  above  species,  is  dis- 
tinguished by  its  double  pappus,  the  outer  row  being  very  shorty 
coroniform,  toothed,  or  split  to  the  base,  and  by  its  slightly  alveolate 
but  otherwise  naked  receptacle. — Jour.  Phar.  d  (Mm.,  June,  1882,. 
pp.  611,  612. 
Test  for  Distinguishing  Cotton -seed  Oil  from  Olive  Oil.  B}^  M.  Zec- 
chini. — The  author  recommends  for  this  purpose  pure  colorless  nitric 
acid,  free  from  nitrous  products,  and  having  a  density  of  1*40.  Acid 
of  this  strength  forms  with  pure  olive  oil  at  first  sight  a  colorless  or 
slightly  straw-colored  mixture,  changing  to  light  dove-grey  with  yel- 
low^ish  reflex,  whereas  with  cotton-seed  oil  it  forms  at  first  a  golden- 
yellow  mixture,  afterwards  changing  to  a  coffee-brown  color  so  deep 
as  to  be  almost  black.  To  apply  the  test,  the  two  liquids  are  mixed 
in  a  test-tube  closed  with  a  caoutchouc  stopper,  and  shaken  together 
briskly  for  about  half  a  minute,  the  tube  being  then  left  to  rest  in  a 
vertical  position  for  five  or  six  minutes.  This  method  serves  for  the 
detection  of  0'5  per  cent,  cotton-seed  oil  in  olive  oil.  It  is  essential  tO' 
use  acid  of  the  strength  above  mentioned,  for  weaker  acid,  e.  g.,  of  sp.. 
gr.  1*22  to  1'33,  produces  with  cotton-seed  oil  only  a  light  colored 
liquid,  scarcely  distinguishable  from  that  formed  with  olive  oil;  while 
on  the  other  hand  strong  acid  having  a  sp.  gr.  of  1*40  and  charged 
with  nitrous  products  gives  a  dark  color  even  with  pure  olive  oil. — 
Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  June  1882,  from  Gazzetta,  1882,  61. 
Artificial  Amber,  closely  resembling  the  natural  product,  is  made 
chiefly  from  colophony ;  it  softens  at  a  much  lower  temperature,  and 
becomes  at  once  opaque  and  gradually  soft  in  alcohol.  True  amber 
melts  between  285  an  287°C. ;  alcohol  acts  scarcely  upon  it,  and  frag- 
ments of  it  are  united  to  larger  pieces  by  moistening  the  surfaces  with, 
potassa  and  pressing  them  together. — Polyt.  Notizhl. 
Oil  of  Thyme  is  conveniently  tested  for  thymol,  according  to  Hager,. 
by  s])reading  a  half  a  drop  of  it,  by  means  of  a  small  cork,  upon  a 
glass  slide,  so  as  to  occcupy  4  or  5  square  centimeters.  The  thymol 
Injgins  to  separate,  within  3  or  4  minutes,  in  the  (central  portion  of  tliis^ 
li(|uid,  in  numerous  minute  bodies,  recognizable  with  the  naked  eye  ;; 
subsequently  they  appear  also  towards  the  margin,  but  less  numerous^ 
Under  the  microscope  they  appear  at  first  annn-phous,  but  after  an 
hour  or  two  are  easily  recognized  as  crystals. 
For  the  separation  of  thymol  by  means  of  caustic  soda  it  is  neces- 
