Am.  jour^pharm.j    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  535 
use.  The  third  apparatus  figured  shows  the  crude  stills  in  use  in  North 
Carolina  for  the  distillation  of  the  volatile  oils  of  sassafras,  pennyroyal,  pep- 
permint, etc.,  as  follows: 
A  trench  is  dug  in  the  ground,  ending  in  a  chimney.  A  box  with  sheet- 
iron  bottom,  closed  top,  and  auger  hole  to  introduce  water  in  the  top,  is 
surmounted  by  a  barrel,  which  is  connected  (by  an  elbow  of  wood,  bored 
out  with  an  auger)  to  a  tin  pipe  lying  in  a  trough  of  cold  water,  which  is 
the  condenser.  The  outfit  costs  about  $10.  The  sassafras  roots  are  dug, 
washed,  braised  and  chopped  into  short  pieces  and  placed  in  the  barrel. 
Water  is  introduced  into  the  steamer  or  box,  all  the  joints  luted  tight  with 
clay  and  fire  applied  in  the  trench.  The  steam  passes  through  auger  holes 
in  top  of  box  and  bottom  of  barrel,  and  is  condensed  and  passes  into  the 
receiver  with  a  portion  of  oil,  which  is  decanted  from  above,  or  the  water 
drawn  off  below. 
Mr,  Luhn  had  sent  various  specimens  of  sand,  which  was  brought  to  the 
surface  of  the  earth  during  the  great  earthquake  in  South  Carolina  in 
August  1886;  these  were  exhibited  by  Mr.  Painter. 
Two  elaborate  papers  on  volatile  oils,  by  Ed.  Kremers,  of  Wisconsin, 
were  presented,  and  of  each  a  synopsis  was  read.  Oil  of  Pennyroyal  (hedeo- 
ma)  was  found  to  contain  an  alcohol,  boiling  in  the  neighborhood  of  70°  C, 
but  as  obtained  from  two  different  samples  of  oil,  the  ultimate  composition 
and  the  boiling  point  varied  to  some  extent.  A  body  named  hedeomol  has 
the  composition  C10H18O,  and  exists  in  two  modifications,  boiling  near  170° 
and  208°  C,  the  former  having  an  odor  somewhat  resembling  lavender, 
while  the  odor  of  the  latter  is  mint-like,  recalling  that  of  pennyroyal.  On 
saponification  of  the  oil,  formic,  acetic  and  isoheptoic  acids  were  obtained. 
Oil  of  Citronella  ( Andryopogon  Nardus,  Lin)  yielded  a  heptoic  aldehyd 
C7HuO;  a  terpene  C10H16;  citronellol  C10H18O,  and  acetic  and  valerianic 
acids. 
Irish-moss  Gelatin  was  the  title  of  a  paper  read  by  Prof.  Painter,  and  a 
number  of  samples  were  exhibited.  A  strong  solution  of  the  gelatinous 
principle  of  Irish-moss  may  be  made  by  suspending  the  washed  drug  en- 
closed in  a  conical  bag  in  a  percolator  containing  water,  and  heating  this  by 
means  of  a  water-jacket  to  the  boiling  temperature  for  about  two  hours  ; 
the  thick  mucilaginous  liquid  is  then  drawn  off,  and  may  be  evaporated  to 
dryness  by  placing  it  in  shallow  trays  in  a  well-heated  drying  closet.  The 
yield  of  gelatin  is  about  70  per  cent.,  the  Irish-moss  not  being  completely 
exhausted.  As  an  example  for  the  manner  in  which  it  may  be  used  for 
emulsions,  the  following  is  given  : 
Emulsion  of  Cod-Liver  Oil.  Dissolve  Irish  moss  gelatin,  40  gr.,  in  boiling- 
water,  5  fluidounces,  transfer  the  solution  to  a  pint  bottle,  add  cod  liver  oil,  8 
fluidounces,  in  divided  portions,  shaking  vigorously  after  each  addition 
until  a  perfect  emulsion  is  formed ;  then  add  syrup  of  tolu,  2  fluidounces, 
and  lastly  a  solution  of  oil  of  sassafras  10  minims,  oil  of  wintergreen  10 
minims,  and  oil  of  bitter  almond  2  minims,  in  alcohol  1  fluidounce ;  shake 
well  together.  The  emulsion  may  also  be  made  in  a  mortar  in  the  usual 
way. 
