Am.  Jodr.  Phabm.  \ 
Nov.  1,  1872.  j 
Varieties. 
515 
the  oil.  5000  lbs.  (German  weight)  of  roses  give  by  careful  distil- 
ling 1  lb.  of  oil. 
The  so-called  freezing  degree,  that  is,  the  degree  of  temperature 
when  the  separation  of  the  solid  parts  takes  place,  varies  with  the 
■oils  of  Kizanlik  between  8  and  16  degrees  Reaumur,  equal  to  50  to 
*68  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  best  oils  get  solid  or  stiff  at  these  tem- 
peratures ;  they  come  from  the  colder  mountain  districts,  whereas 
the  oils  from  the  warmer  localities  get  solid  at  12  to  16  degrees 
Reaumur,  equal  to  59  to  68  degrees  Fahrenheit.  These  oils,  marked 
strong  oils,  have  a  le3s  delicate  flavor,  and  are  preferred  by  ignorant 
traders. 
It  is  evident  that  such  a  valuable  substance  as  the  rose-oil  is  very 
much  exposed  to  adulteration.  The  adulteration  takes  place  most 
extensively  at  the  home  of  the  oil,  where  also  the  substance  for  adul- 
teration is  produced  on  a  large  scale.  This  article,  also  an  ethereal 
substance,  is  called  in  India  "  rosia-oil,"  in  Egypt  "  idris-oil,"  and  in 
England  "ginger-oil."  It  is  distilled  from  species  of  Andropogon 
and  Cymbopogon.*  The  idris-oil  is  sometimes  called  "geranium-oil." 
Among  the  data  furnished  by  Mr.  Kasselmann  is  one  that  the  distil- 
lers often  adulterate  the  rose-oil  with  geranium-oil  which  is  imported 
from  Alexandria.    This  is  but  idris-oil  exported  from  Bombay. 
The  rose-oil  is  exported  in  round  tinned  copper  bottles  called 
*"  kunkoumas,  which,  when  filled,  are  closed  by  soldering.  The  price 
on  the  spot  per  German  pound  is  120  to  125  thalers. — Canadian 
JPharm.  Journ.^  Sept.,  1872. 
t)arictie0. 
Apothecaries. — The  word  "  apothecary  "  formerly  signified  any  kind  of  store, 
magazine,  or  warehouse,  and  the  proprietors  of  such  places  were  termed  "  apo- 
thecaries." "  It  would  be  a  great  mistake,"  observes  Beckman,  "if  in  the 
writings  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  where  these  expressions  oc- 
cur, we  should  understand  under  the  latter  term,  'apothecaries,'  such  as  ours 
are  at  present.  At  these  periods,  persons  were  often  called  apothecaries  who, 
at  court,  and  in  the  houses  of  great  people,  prepared  for  the  table  various  pre- 
serves, particularly  fruit  encrusted  with  sugar,  and  who,  on  that  account,  may 
*  Cymbopogon  is  synonymous  with  the  genus  Anatherum  ;  the  latter  is  the 
name  used.  Both  Anatherum  and  Andropogon  belong  to  the  order  Grami- 
■nacece  (section  Andropogonece). 
