Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Aug.,  1891. 
Olive  Oil. 
395 
are,  indeed,  very  delicious.  The  farinha,  mixed  with  water,  and 
made  into  poultices,  is  used  very  much  for  inflammations  of  various 
kinds  and  abscesses. 
OLIVE  OIL. 
By  A.  B.  Stewart,  M.A.,  Ph.G. 
On  the  15  of  June,  1871,  the  writer  bottled  twelve  two  ounce 
bottles  of  pure  olive  oil,  which  were  boxed  and  kept  on  a  garrett 
in  darkness,  and  where  the  temperature  in  winter  was  not  sufficient 
to  cause  precipitation  of  margarin.  On  the  15th  of  June,  1 89 1 ,  the  oil 
was  examined;  three  bottles  had  precipitated  25  percent,  of  margarin, 
four  20  per  cent,  and  five  16  to  18  of  margarin.  When  placed  in 
hot  water  the  oil  instantly  became  deep  green  in  color  and  trans- 
parent ;  on  being  placed  in  a  dark  closet  for  24  hours  it  became 
opaque,  24  hours  longer  deposited  about  margarin,  and  after 
7  days  complete  precipitation  took  place ;  when  exposed  to  the 
light  of  the  sun  the  margarin  would  rise  toward  the  top,  and  in  a 
few  seconds  the  solid  part  would  become  translucent.  It  then 
becomes  obvious  that  age  and  darkness  cause  precipitates,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  of  the  margarin  contained  in  all  oils,  from 
the  fact  that  on  repeated  closeting  of  the  oil  precipitation  would 
occur,  while  sun-light  would  render  it  translucent  and  transparent. 
This  oil  was  then  subjected  to  chemical  tests  for  purity.  Mercury 
grs.,  and  nitric  acid  21^  grs.,  sp.  gr.  1-35,  were  mixed  with 
the  oil,  which  failed  after  a  few  hours  to  be  converted  into  a  solid 
mass.  Sulphuric  acid,  by  -a  tinge  of  rose-color,  in  three  or  four 
shakings  in  the  test  tube,  revealed  the  presence  of  poppy  oil. 
Nitric  acid  failed  to  reveal  the  green  color  given  to  the  pure  oil. 
Equal  parts  of  nitric  and  sulphuric  acids  mixed  with  equal  weights 
of  the  oil  neither  revealed  a  bright  yellow  color  of  the  pure  oil  nor 
the  beautiful  deep  green  color  of  the  oil  of  sesamum.  After  testing 
pure  lard  oil,  the  results  were  compared  and  revealed  that  what  was 
apparently  pure  olive  oil,  was  in  reality  lard  oil  with  a  variable 
proportion  of  cotton  seed  oil  and  minute  traces  of  poppy  oil. 
Duncannon,  Pa. 
COMPARISON  OF  SOME  COMMERCIAL  ACETIC  ETHERS. 
By  Robert  Glenk,  Ph.G. 
Although  having  no  great  pharmaceutical  or  medicinal  import- 
ance, acetic  ether  is,  however,  used,  technically  to  a  considerable 
