ON  CARYPHA  PUMOS. 
213 
can  readily  be  obtained  in  this  section  of  the  country  pure, 
which  is  a  great  desideratum.  This  is  the  recipe  by  which  the 
specimen  sent  was  made. 
Take  of  Mercury  an  ounce. 
Nitric  acid,  fourteen  fluid  drachms. 
Bear's  oil,  thirteen  fluid  ounces. 
Heat  the  oil  in  a  porcelain  capsule  to  200°  Fahr.,  and  add  the 
solution  of  nitrate  of  mercury  gradually,  stirring  continuously 
till  effervescence  ceases,  and  frequently  till  cool,  with  a  glass  or 
porcelain  spatula. 
Hoping  it  may  prove  worthy  of  a  space  in  your  valued  Jour- 
nal, and  be  of  use  to  pharmaceutists,  I  subscribe  myself  yours 
most  truly,  William  Prior  Creecy. 
VicksburgJi,  Miss.,  April  10,  1860. 
ON  CARYPHA  PUMOS,  A  SPECIES  OF  PALM. 
By  Herman  Fritsch. 
[Extracted  from  an  Inaugural  Essay  presented  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy.] 
[This  essay,  from  which  the  following  abstract  has  been  made 
by  the  Editor,  was  worked  out  by  Mr.  Fritsch  in  the  laboratory 
of  Dr.  Genth,  of  Philadelphia.  It  exhibits  great  care  and 
skill  in  the  author,  but  its  details  are  too  extended,  and  the 
subject  itself  of  too  little  pharmaceutical  importance  to  grant  it 
the  space  it  would  require,  if  printed  entire.] 
The  author  begins  his  Essay  by  stating  the  importance  of 
common  salt  as  a  necessary  mineral  element  of  animal  food,  and 
refers  to  the  sources  whence  inferior  races  of  mankind  derive 
this  important  substance.  He  remarks,  "An  instance  of  this 
kind,  which  is  also  mentioned  in  several  works  by  persons  who 
have  travelled  in  Surinam  and  Brazil,  is  that  of  various  tribes  of 
Indians  inhabiting  the  interior  of  these  countries  who  obtain 
their  salt  from  several  species  of  palm  growing  abundantly  in 
their  immediate  vicinity. 
By  this  interesting  fact  I  was  induced  to  investigate  the  sub- 
ject by  several  careful  analyses.  The  specimen  which  I  ex- 
amined bore  the  doubtful  name  of  Carypha  pumos,  a  name 
which  I  have  exhausted  all  reliable  works  at  my  command  to 
