270 
Current  Literature. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1920. 
[n]D,  1.470;  iodine  value,  12 1.8.  The  oil  is  quite  viscid  at  ordinary- 
temperature,  and  has  a  mild  odor;  it  possesses  moderate  drying 
properties,  and  compares  favorably  with  other  vegetable  oils,  such 
as  cottonseed  oil.  It  is  applicable  as  an  edible  oil  or  as  a  material 
for  soap  making,  or  as  a  semi-drying  oil  for  paints.  It  is  estimated 
that  6  million  lbs.  of  oil  could  be  obtained  annually  from  sumac  seed 
in  the  State  of  Kansas.    (From  The  Analyst,  December,  1919.) 
A  Ne:w  EssenTiai.  Oil. — Challinor,  Cheel  and  Penfold  describe 
in  /.  Proc.  Roy.  Soc,  N.  S.  W.  (52:  175,  1918),  the  essential  oil  ob- 
tained from  the  entire  plant  of  a  new  species  of  Leptospermum  (L. 
citratum).    It  is  of  a  pale  amber  color  and  pleasant  lemon-oil  odor, 
15° 
sp.  gr.  at  —  C,  0.8841;  Opt.  rotat.  at  18.6°  C,       +  3.6,  refract. 
ind.  at  20°  C;  n^  1.4730.  It  contains  90  per  cent,  of  the  aldehydes 
citronellol  and  citral  in  nearly  equal  proportions,  and  is  soluble  in  two 
volumes  of  70  per  cent,  alcohol  (by  weight).  The  identification  of 
the  two  aldehydes  was  made  by  the  approved  methods.  The  non- 
aldehydic  portion  of  the  oil  is  still  under  examination,  as  the  amount 
available  is  small.  A  small  proportion  of  a  phenolic  substance 
seems  to  be  present  as  a  crystalline  benzoate  is  produced  by  the  ac- 
tion of  benzoyl  chloride.  Color  reactions  with  bromine  and  with 
hydrochloric  ^acid  indicate  the  presence  of  a  small  amount  of  aro- 
madendrene.  The  data  show  that  the  oil  is  distinctive  in  character 
and  differs  from  that  of  any  other  species  of  Leptospermum  so  far  re- 
corded. H.  L. 
BoTuuSM — The  experiments  reported  on  by  Dickson  and  his 
associates  were  undertaken  to  determine  the  thermal  death  point 
of  B,  hotulinus  and  its  spores  under  various  conditions.  They  found 
that  the  spores  of  B.  hotulinus,  when  mixed  with  animal  and  vege- 
table protein,  are  much  more  resistant  to  heat  than  has  been  believed. 
The  acidification  of  the  culture  medium  by  the  addition  of  5  per 
cent,  lemon  juice  does  not  prevent  the  growth  of  B.  hotulinus  or 
the  formation  of  its  toxin,  but  the  thermal  death  point  of  spores  of 
B.  hotulinus  is  markedly  lowered  when  they  are  heated  in  an  acid 
medium  of  similar  concentration.  The.  addition  of  cane  sugar  to 
beef  broth  in  concentration  up  to  64  per  cent,  does  not  prevent  the 
growth  of  B.  hotulinus  or  the  formation  of  its  toxin,  although  it  does 
inhibit  both  to  a  certain  extent.    Certain  fruits  which  have  been 
