496  Influence  of  Menthol.  {Amoc°tu,ri8?farn1, 
percentage  of  hydrocarbons  was  28-12,  corresponding  to  an  addition 
of  17  per  cent,  of  paraffin  calculated  on  the  original  wax.  The  per- 
centage of  hydrocarbons  and  the  total  acid  number  of  the  mixture 
being  known,  the  total  acid  number  of  the  original  wax  could  be 
calculated,  and  was  found  in  this  case  to  be  87-6.  A  mixture  made 
by  adding  8  per  cent,  of  paraffin  to  a  genuine  sample  of  beeswax 
gave  figures  on  analysis  corresponding  to  an  addition  of  7-4  per 
cent. 
A  few  figures  for  bleached  beeswax  are  also  given  : 
Source  of  sample. 
Hydrocarbons. 
Acid  number. 
True  saponification 
number  (after  de- 
duction of  acid 
number) . 
10-93 
20*87 
68-33 
Bgypt,  
1 1  "35 
20  "04 
69-94 
Transylvania,  .... 
13-61 
24-68 
15*48 
23  "05 
*79'49 
*  74-49  in  original. 
According  to  A.  and  P.  Buisine,  bleached  wax  gives  a  lower  result 
for  hydrocarbons  than  yellow  wax ;  the  last  two  samples  are 
apparently  impure,  and  have  been  bleached  by  chemical  means. 
INFLUENCE  OF  MENTHOL  ON  THE  GASTRIC 
FUNCTIONS.1 
By  Nikolai  A.  Vladimirsky. 
Following  Professor  I.  T.  Tchiidnovsky's  suggestion,  Dr.  Vladi- 
mirsky has  carried  out  a  set  of  experiments  on  seven  healthy  sub- 
jects (six  men,  including  himself,  and  one  woman),  aged  from  24  to 
32,  the  drug  being  administered  with  food,  in  the  dose  of  0-3, 
i-o  and  2  0  grammes.  The  author  has  arrived  at  the  following 
conclusions  : 
( i)  The  drug  (in  any  of  the  doses  stated)  very  markedly  diminishes 
the  proportion  of  free  hydrochloric  acid  in  the  gastric  juice,  the 
decrease  attaining  its  maximum  in  about  1  or  1^  hours  after  the 
ingestion. 
1  St.  Petersburg  Inaugural  Dissertation,  1891,  No.  77,  pp.  44 ;  Medical 
Chronicle,  August,  p.  367. 
