Am.  Jodk.  Pharm.  ) 
April  1,  1872.  j 
Cinchona  Cultivation  in  Java, 
111 
was  separated,  and  found  to  weigh  18  pounds ;  it  consisted  of  oil  of 
peppermint  of  very  good  quality.  The  residue  in  the  still  weighed 
21  pounds,  and  was  found  to  consist  of  castor  oil.  The  sum  of  these 
weights,  deducted  from  the  original  weight  of  the  oil,  represents  the 
amount  of  alcohol  present.  This  would,  of  course,  become  mixed 
with  the  watery  distillate.  From  these  data  the  composition  of  the 
oil  may  be  centisimally  represented  : 
Oil  of  Peppermint,  .  .  .  .32-72 
Castor  Oil,  .....  38-18 
Alcohol,  29-10 
100-00 
A  mixture  of  the  above  ingredients,  in  the  specified  proportion, 
gave  a  clear  and  very  presentable  oil,  strongly  resembling  the  genuine 
article.  Its  density  was  slightly  lower,  being  -894  at-  60°  F.  Its 
behavior  with  iodine  was  precisely  similar  to  that  of  pure  oil,  and 
it  dissolved  perfectly  in  alcohol  of  sp.  gr.  -838. 
The  detection  of  this  adulteration  is  best  effected  by  evaporating 
a  portion  of  the  sample  from  filtering  paper,  when  the  characteristic 
greasy  stain,  indicating  the  presence  of  fixed  oil,  will  remain.  The 
presence  of  alcohol  is  shown  by  agitation  with  an  equal  bulk  of  water, 
when  a  milky  emulsion  will  be  produced,  and  the  oily  layer  will  suffer 
a  diminution  of  volume,  which  is  not,  however,  proportionate  to  the 
amount  of  alcohol  present ;  a  sample  treated  in  this  way  only  lost 
0*25  its  volume.  The  amount  of  adulteration  can  only  be  ascertained 
by  careful  distillation  with  water,  and  subsequent  agitation  of  the 
distillate  with  water,  to  remove  traces  of  alcohol.  In  this  way  the 
quantity  of  oil  of  peppermint  will  be  slightly  understated. 
In  the  case  cited  by  Mr.  Saunders,  it  appears  that  alcohol  was  pre- 
sent, but  escaped  notice,  as  a  mixture  of  25  per  cent,  castor  oil  with 
oil  of  peppermint  is  so  thick  as  to  preclude  any  possibility  of  mistak- 
ing the  mixture  for  genuine  oil.  Evaporation  from  a  test-tube,  as 
recommended,  would,  in  this  case,  give  no  indication  of  the  true 
quantity  of  the  adulterant. — Canad.  Pharm.  Journ.,  March,  1872. 
CINCHONA  CULTIVATION  TN  JAVA. 
In  a  very  interesting  report  on  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  Isl- 
and of  Java,  we  read  that  "  the  cinchona  cultivation,  under  the  special 
care  of  the  Government,  is  increasing  yearly.    Besides  the  twelve 
