578  Note  on  Japanese  Oil  of  Peppermint.  {AVecUi,i87A4.M" 
(6.)  Both  acetate  of  urania  and  molybdate  of  ammonia  give  the  yel- 
low precipitates  characteristic  of  the  phosphates. 
The  author  states  that  he  is  convinced  that  the  water,  of  which  the 
preparation  and  properties  are  described  above,  really  contains  the 
tribasic  phosphate  without  any  mixture  of  other  lime  salts,  and  might 
be  substituted  advantageously  for  the  syrups  and  solutions  already  in 
use.  It  mixes  without  decomposition  with  wine,  beer  and  milk,  and 
consequently  can  be  administered  with  food — a  condition  eminently 
favorable  for  assimilation. — Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans.,  Sept.  19^3 
1874.   
NOTE  ON  JAPANESE  OIL  OF  PEPPERMINT. 
By  John  Moss,  F.  C.  S., 
Late  Demonstrator  in  the  Laboratory  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Society,  the  opening  meeting  of  the 
session,  there  was  placed  on  the  table  a  specimen  of  so-called  crystal- 
lized oil  of  peppermint,  this  having  been  presented  to  the  museum 
by  Messrs.  Cyriax  &  Farries.  The  specimen  excited  considerable 
interest,  and  did  not  seem  to  have  been  previously  met  with  by  those 
who  examined  it.  I  therefore  thought  it  might  be  useful  to  ascertain 
what  was  known  of  the  body,  and,  if  it  presented  any  points  of  inter- 
est, to  place  these  before  the  Society.  I  may  premise  that  the  par- 
ticular sample  in  question  is  part  of  a  parcel  which  was  received  from 
Japan,  in  a  cylindrical  tin  canister,  along  with  a  bottle  of  the  liquid 
oil,  a  specimen  of  which  is  presented  to  the  museum  by  Messrs.  Cor- 
byn  k  Co. 
It  appears  that  in  1862  a  memoir  on  crystallized  oil  of  peppermint, 
from  Japan,  was  presented  to  the  Chemical  Society  by  Oppenheim,* 
This  chemist  speaks  of  the  substance  coming  to  this  country  in  con- 
siderable quantity  in  earthenware  jars,  and  of  its  being  adulterated 
with  sulphate  of  magnesium — to  which  it  has  a  close  resemblance  in 
crystalline  form — to  the  extent  of  10  to  20  per  cent.  This  is  far 
from  being  the  case  now,  for  the  result  of  many  inquiries  is  to  find 
that  the  body  is  almost  unknown  here  (indeed,  Mr.  Hanbury  is  the 
only  gentleman  to  whom  I  have  applied  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with 
it  ;t  and,  so  far  from  being  adulterated  with  sulphate  of  magnesium, 
the  specimen  on  the  table,  if  not  absolutely  pure,  is  at  least  free  from 
all  impurities  not  derived  from  the  original  oil. 
*  Journ.  Chem.  Soc,  xv,  24. 
t  Dr.  Fluckiger  (Pharm.  Journ.  [3],  ii,  p.  321)  speaks  of  solid  Japanese  pep- 
permint oil  having  been  met  with  in  European  trade  during  the  past  few  years. 
