312 
GLEANINGS — PHARMACEUTICAL,  ETC. 
to  maintain  combustion  by  yielding  oxygen.  The  nitre  also  is  sup- 
posed to  be  serviceable  only  as  a  source  of  oxygen,  and  might, 
therefore,  be  replaced  by  some  other  nitrate,  for  instance  nitrate 
of  baryta,  which,  like  the  potash  salt,  is  anhydrous. 
The  amorphous  phosphorus  does  not  seem  to  be  nearly  so 
good  for  the  preparation  of  matches  as  ordinary  phosphorus, 
most  likely  in  consequence  of  the  necessity  for  its  re-conversion 
into  ordinary  phosphorus  before  ignition  takes  place. — Pharm. 
Jour.,  Feb.,  185T. 
Fluorine  in  the  blood.— M>  J.  Nickles  has  not  only  found  this 
element  in  human  blood,  but  likewise  in  that  of  other  mammalia, 
as  the  pig,  sheep,  ox  and  dog,  and  in  that  of  many  birds,  as 
turkeys,  geese,  ducks  and  chickens.  These  results  give  fluorine 
an  importance,  not  hitherto  accorded  to  it,  in  physiology,  and 
disprove  the  opinion  of  Berzelius  that  the  presence  of  fluorine  in 
bones  is  accidental  and  unnecessary. 
To  yet  further  prove  the  reality  of  this  element  being  a  normal 
constituent  of  the  animal  body,  M.  Nickles  has  found  it  in  the 
bile,  in  the  albumen  of  egg,  in  gelatin,  in  saliva,  in  urine,  in 
the  hair,  and  in  fact,  in  the  entire  organism. — Comptes  Mendus. 
Oil  of  peppermint. — According  to  the  Druggist's  Circular, 
(April,  1857,  page  35,)  oil  of  peppermint  was  manufactured  in 
St.  Joseph's  County,  Michigan,  in  the  year  1855,  to  the  extent 
of  25,000  pounds,  valued  in  New  York  at  three  dollars  per 
pound.  From  8  to  12  pounds  is  the  product  of  an  acre.  The 
first  crop  requires  a  good  deal  of  care,  but  the  two  following 
years  the  plant  requires  but  little  attention.  The  mint  is  cut 
and  distilled  in  August.  If  this  statement  is  correct,  between 
two  and  three  thousand  acres  are  devoted  to  peppermint.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Bell,  (Pharm.  Jour.,  Jan.,  1851,)  an  acre  of  pep- 
permint at  Mitcham  produces  on  the  average  five  tons  of  the 
green  cut  herb,  which  by  distillation  affords  8|  lb.  of  oil  per 
ton,  making  17}  lb.  per  acre,  a  larger  yield  than  that  obtained 
in  Michigan. 
Oil  of  turpentine  as  a  cure  for  itch  Dr.  Anselmier  {Jour,  de 
Chim.  Med.,  Dec,  1856,)  says  that  of  the  various  methods  of 
treating  itch  none  has  been  more  successful  or  cheaper  than  that 
by  essence  of  turpentine.  The  following  is  the  mode  of  using  : 
The  patient,  on  going  to  bed,  sprinkles  on  the  sheets,  and  his 
