Am.  Jour.  Pharco. 
September,  1899. 
British  Pharmaceutical  Conference. 
453 
Oily  OF  CARDAMOMS. 
By  E.  J.  Parry. 
The  author  points  out  that  the  chemistry  of  oil  of  cardamoms  is  in  a  very 
"hazy"  condition,  owing  to  the  fact  that  those  who  have  reported  on  the 
subject  rarely  state  what  they  mean  by  "  cardamoms."  For  experimental  pur- 
poses the  author  has  had  Malabar  and  Mysore  cardamoms  specially  distilled, 
and  has  examined  the  resulting  oils.  The  Malabar  cardamoms  yielded  1*3  per 
cent,  of  oil  and  the  Mysore  variety  2 '6  per  cent.  They  were  both  light-yellow 
in  color,  scarcely  distinguishable  in  odor,  and  having  a  specific  gravity  of  o"948  . 
but  whilst  the  optical  rotation  of  the  Malabar  oil  was  -f-  400  41',  that  of  the 
Mysore  oil  was  -f-  46°  397.  The  oils  were  soluble  with  a  slight  opacity  in  40 
to  45  volumes  of  60  per  cent,  alcohol,  and  but  little  difference  was  apparent  be- 
tween them.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  Mysore  cardamoms  yield  twice  as  much 
oil  as  the  Malabar  variety,  the  former  are  preferable  for  distillation  purposes. 
ALMOND  AND  OTHER  KERNEL  OILS. 
By  Ralph  S.  Swinton  and  John  C.  Umney. 
The  authors  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  B.P.  test  for  almond  oil  is  not  defined 
with  sufficient  accuracy,  but  that  inability  to  comply  with  its  requirements  in- 
dicates admixture  with  apricot  kernel  oil.    Certain  marked  differences  are  also 
shown  when  the  test  is  applied  to  apricot  and  peach  kernel  oils. 
THE  COMPOSITION  OF  COMMERCIAL  ARAROBA. 
By  Edwin  Dowzard. 
The  following  table  gives  the  results  obtained  in  the  examination  of  nine 
samples  of  commercial  araroba  : 
No.  1.  No.  2.  No.  3.  No.  4. 
Sample 
as  Rec'd. 
Dried 
Sample. 
Sample 
as  Rec'd. 
Dried 
Sample. 
Sample  Dried 
as  Kec'd.  Sample. 
Sample 
as  Rec'd. 
Dried 
Sample. 
Chrysarobin  .  . 
54  "9° 
78-50 
5i'37 
75-6i 
62-39 
76-65 
64-40 
82-67 
.30*06 
32*06 
18 -6o 
22'IO 
Woody  fibre,  etc. 
14-13- 
20  20 
14-02 
20*64 
18-51 
22-74 
I3'20 
16-95 
0-91 
1-30 
2-55 
3'75 
0-50 
o'6i 
0'3° 
o-38 
ioo'oo 
IOO'OO 
IOO'OO 
IOO'OO 
ioo-oo 
IOO'OO 
IOO'CO 
IOO'OO 
No.  5. 
'   No.  6. 
No.  7. 
No. 
8. 
No. 
9. 
Sample  Dried 
as  Rec'd.  Sample. 
Sample  Dried 
as  Rec'd.  Sample. 
Sample  Dried 
as  Rec'd.  Sample. 
Sample 
as  Rec'd. 
Dried 
Sample. 
Sample 
as  Rec'd 
Dried 
Sample. 
65-99  85'M 
62 'OO 
7S'5i 
43  79 
59-02 
44-34 
51-80 
49'97 
62-70 
22*50  — 
17-90 
25-80 
14-40 
20-30 
ii-ii  14-35 
19-71 
24-01 
26-90 
36-25 
32-96 
38-50 
23-27 
29'20 
0-40  0-51 
0-39 
0-48 
473 
8-301 
9-70 
6-46i 
8-io 
IOO'OO  IOO'OO 
J  ICO'OO 
ioo'oo 
IOO'OO 
IOO'OO 
IOO'OO 
IOO'OO 
100  00 
IOO'OO 
Consists  principally  of  coarse  sand. 
