Am  jaT^94arm,|  Revision  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia.  13. 
ist  will  reinvestigate  the  subject  thoroughly  so  as  to  settle  the 
mooted  question. 
Oil  of  Ceylon  Cinnamon  is  no  longer  official.  The  Pharmacopoeia 
now  describes  Oil  of  Cinnamon  as  "a  volatile  oil  from  Cassia  cinna- 
mon" which  implies  that  it  is  distilled  from  the  bark.  According  to 
Messrs.  Schimmel  &  Co.  the  bark  yields  but  1-5  per  cent,  of  oil,  hav- 
ing a  sp.  gr.  1  03 5,  this  as  well  as  price  precludes  its  use  for  this 
purpose.  From  their  investigations  they  state,  "  It  can,  therefore, 
be  assumed  with  safety,  that  the  cassia  oil  of  commerce  is  distilled 
in  China  out  of  the  leaves,  leafstalks  and  young  twigs  of  the  cassia 
plant,  probably  together  with  various  refuse  products  worthless  for 
other  purpose." — (Semi-Annual  Report  Schimmel  &  Co.,  Oct.,  1892, 
p.  14.) 
Hirschsohn's  alcoholic  lead  acetate  test  is  adopted  for  detecting 
colophony.  The  character  of  the  residue  left  on  evaporation  is  a 
simple  test  that  should  have  been  given,  as  it  yields  valuable  infor- 
mation as  to  the  character  of  adulterants.  The  quantitative  estimation 
of  cinnamic  aldehyde  is  likewise  one  of  the  surest  tests  of  quality 
and  is  not  very  difficult  to  apply. 
Oil  of  Copaiba  is  stated  to  be  soluble  in  about  10  times  its  volume 
of  alcohol  and  not  an  equal  weight,  as  erroneously  stated  in  1880. 
My  own  notes  show  that  freshly  distilled  oil  is  soluble  in  from  6  to 
8  volumes  of  alcohol,  but  solubility  varies  with  age,  as  oils  a  year  or 
so  old  require  from  10  to  15  volumes. 
Oil  of  Pennyroyal,  it  should  be  remembered,  is  only  the  American 
oil  distilled  from  hedeoma.  The  closely  allied  Austrian  and  Spanish 
oils  obtained  from  Mentha  pulegium,  L.,  are  frequently  seen  in  com- 
merce. 
The  sp.  gr.  of  Oil  of  Peppermint  is  stated  at  -900  to  -920.  Pure 
oil  generally  averages  -910  and  the  range  -908  to  -917  has  been 
found  as  fixing  the  limits.  The  statement  that  "  the  oil  does  not 
fulminate  with  iodine,"  would  be  correct  if  changed  to  "  should  not 
fulminate  with  iodine,"  as  old  oil  or  one  exposed  to  oxidation  will 
fume  with  iodine  more  or  less. 
The  nitric  acid  test,  proposed  by  A.  B.  Stevens,  is  adopted  to 
detect  the  adulteration  of  this  and  other  oils  with  oil  of  camphor. 
A  test  that  will  readily  detect  oil  of  copaiba  in  this  and  other  oils  is 
needed. 
The  sp.  gr.  of  Oil  of  Sandal  Wood  is  stated  at  0-970  to  0-978.  This 
