GLEANINGS — DOMESTIC  AND  FOREIGN. 
228 
no  injury  to  the  plant,  and  produced  an  intensely  aromatic  odor. 
The  flame  is  due  to  a  secretion  of  the  nature  o''  volatile  oil  from 
glands  below  the  base  of  the  flower,  which  secretion  does  not  ap- 
pear until  just  before  the  petals  fall. — Druggists  Circular, 
Dr.  Torreys  Herbarium. — Through  the  Amer.  Med.  Times, 
we  learn  that  Dr.  Torrey  has  presented  his  immense  herbarium., 
the  fruit  of  forty  years  assiduous  labor,  together  with  his  valu- 
able botanical  library,"  to  the  Trustees  of  Columbia  College,  who 
have  provided  accommodations  for  them,  and  also  a  residence  for 
Dr.  Torrey  in  the  College.  This  collection  is  said  to  embrace 
examples  of  nearly  all  the  collections  of  Government  expeditions, 
from  that  of  1819,  under  Major  Long,  to  the  recent  results.  Be- 
sides, the  collection  embraces  numerous  specimens  from  the 
Floras  of  Europe,  Asia,  Australia  and  South  Africa.  Dr. 
Torrey  does  not  propose  abandoning  his  botanical  pursuits,  but 
hopes,  under  the  auspices  to  the  College,  to  prosecute  them  un- 
der more  favorable  circumstances. 
Detection  of  Castor  Oil  in  Volatile  Oils.—  E..  N.  Draper  pre- 
poses  to  identify  this  oil  when  used  to  adulterate  the  volatile 
oils  by  its  quality  of  yielding  oenanthylic  acid  by  the  action  of 
nitric  acid.  Twenty  drops  of  the  suspected  oil,  in  a  capsule,  is 
heated  until  deprived  of  aroma.  To  the  residue,  if  any,  add 
five  or  six  drops  of  nitric  acid,  and  as  soon  as  the  reaction  has 
subsided,  dilute  with  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda.  If  castor  oil 
is  present,  the  unmistakable  odor  of  oenanthylic  acid  is  evolved. — 
Dub.  Med.  Press  and  Chem.  News. 
Antipathy  of  Snakes  to  Garlic  and  Tobacco — According  to  Dr. 
Landerer  of  Athens,  {Buchner  s  Hepert.)  the  gSLrdeners  of  Greece 
resort  to  the  plan  of  strewing  bruised  garlic  over  their  melon  and 
cucumber  patches,  before  collecting  their  fruit  to  drive  out  the 
snakes  which  harbor  there. — Druggists  Circular. 
Production  of  intense  cold. — By  the  forcible  passage  of  dry 
air  through  a  number  of  small  tubes  dipping  into  very  volatile 
liquids,  MM.  Loir  and  Orion  have  succeeded  in  producing  in- 
tense cold.  With  about  seven  ounces  of  ether,  a  temperature 
of  — 34'^  F.  can  be  attained,  by  which  sulphurous  acid  gas  may 
