VARIETIES. 
189 
Oil  from  Asphaltum. — The  London  Engineer  says  that  a  prospectus  has 
been  issued  inviting  subscriptions  for  an  increase  of  the  capital  of  the 
Asphaltum  Company  to  £200,000,  or  double  its  original  amount.  The 
business  of  the  company,  which  is  respectably  constituted,  is  to  work  cer- 
tain, mines  of  asphaltum  near  Havana,  for  the  distillation  of  oil,  which 
commands  a  ready  sale  in  England  at  apparently  a  very  remunerative 
price.  The  outlay  for  the  property  in  Havana  has  been  £08,000,  of  which 
only  £18,000  was  in  cash,  the  payment  for  the  remainder  being  in  shares, 
which  are  not  to  rank  for  dividend  until  ordinary  holders  have  received  5 
per  cent.  The  purchase  included  from  the  Spanish  Government  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  making  oil  from  asphaltum  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico 
for  fifteen  years,  and  as  the  annual  consumption  of  oil  in  Cuba  is  estimated 
at  £250,000,  this  is  considered  valuable.  The  directors,  engineer  and 
manager  of  the  company  are  to  be  remunerated  by  a  percentage  on  the 
profits. — Druggists'  Circular. 
Adulteration  of  Camphor. — According  to  the  Journal  de  Pharmacie 
d'Anvers,  gum  camphor  is  now  sometimes  met  with  which  is  mixed  with 
the  artificial  (hydrochloric)  camphor  to  a  considerable  extent.  Mr.  Du- 
mont  gives  as  a  safe  reagent  the  behaviour  of  caustic  ammonia  towards  the 
alcoholic  solutions  of  such  camphor. 
In  a  tincture  of  pure  camphor  a  few  drops  of  ammonia  produce  a  slight 
precipitate,  which  rediasolves  on  shaking,  while  in  a  solution  of  hydro- 
chloric camphor,  or  in  a  mixture  of  the  two,  ammonia  gives  a  flocculent 
precipitate,  which  does  not  redissolve,  and  which  increases  in  volume  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  such  adulteration. — Ibid. 
Cream  as  a  Substitute  for  Cod-liver  Oil. — M.  Fonssagrives  strongly 
recommends,  in  the  Bulletin  de  Therapeulique,  cream  as  a  substitute  for 
cod-liver  oil  in  cases  where  the  latter  cannot  be  borne  on  the  stomach. 
The  dose  for  children  is  four  teaspoonfuls  at  first,  to  be  subsequently 
increased.  It  is  to  be  taken  undiluted,  and  sweetened  or  flavored  with 
vanilla,  which  renders  it  more  digestible.  In  England,  it  is  taken  with  a 
little  rum. — Boston  Med.  and  Surg.  Jour. 
For  Regularly  CracJcing  Glass,  a  very  expeditious  plan  is  to  use  a  pearl 
of  glass  melted  with  some  soda  on  a  platinum  wire,  heated  before  the 
blowpipe  ;  the  crack  having  been  previously  started  with  a  sharp  blade  of 
first-rate  cast-steel,  made  diamond-hard  by  quickly  cooling. —  Chem.  Neivs 
London,  Aug.  10,  1861,  from  Dr.  L.  C.  Levoir. 
Papier  Fayard  et  Blayn. — Boil  30  parts  of  garlic  with  500  of  linseed  oil 
and  strain,  then  add  60  parts  of  powdered  sugar  of  lead,  30  parts  of  yellow 
ochre,  and  15  of  red  lead,  rubbed  up  with  500  parts  oil  of  turpentine,  and 
bring  the  mixture  on  satin  paper  by  means  of  a  flat  brush.  It  is  then 
dried  by  the  stove. — Druggists'  Circular,  Feb.,  1862. 
