562      Advances  in  Materia  Medica  and  Pharmacy.  { ^cembe/ 19™' 
Perwviol  Test. — Twenty  grammes  of  balsam  are  saponified  by 
heating  one  hour  on  a  water-bath,  with  frequent  shaking,  in  a  litre 
flask,  with  20  grammes  of  25  per  cent,  potassium  hydroxide.  Steam 
is  then  passed  through  the  mixture,  and  the  distillate  collected  in  100 
or  150  Cc.  flasks  with  narrow,  graduated  necks.  From  natural 
balsams  there  is  obtained  in  this  manner,  in  300  Cc.  total  distillate, 
from  0.7  to  0.9  Cc.  of  light  oil.  Imitation  balsam  gives  only  traces 
of  heavy  oil.  (By  Francis  D.  Dodge  and  Alfred  E.  Sherndal,  Jour- 
nal A.  Ph.  A.,  October,  1915,  p.  1222.) 
Quizzes,  Tests  and  Examinations. — Repeated  arguments 
against  final  examinations  as  a  means  of  judging  the  ability  of  a 
student  have  failed  to  convince  the  writer  of  this  paper  that  the  time 
is  ripe  for  their  abolishment.  They  are  the  best  incentive  a  student 
has  to  stimulate  his  interest  and  make  him  strive  to  do  his  best.  But 
that  best  should  not  be  postponed  until  just  a  few  weeks  before  final 
examination.  There  should  be  consistent  daily  application  on  the 
part  of  the  student.  "  There  is  no  short  road  to  success."  There 
never  was  and  never  will  be !  The  author's  experience  in  teaching 
has  convinced  him  that  the  most  practical  method  of  making  students 
study  all  during  their  college  course  is  to  put  quiz  work  on  the  basis 
of  frequent  written  tests.  (By  H.  V.  Arny,  Journal  A.  Ph.  A.,  Oc- 
tober, 1915,  p.  1233.) 
Camphor  Oil  in  Oil  of  Turpentine. — To  detect  light  cam- 
phor oil  in  oil  of  turpentine  and  to  distinguish  it  from  pine  oil  it  is 
suggested  to  test  for  saf rol,  which  is  a  constituent  of  camphor  oil : 
100  mils  of  sample  are  distilled,  and  the  last  5  mils  of  distillate  are 
treated  with  an  equal  volume  of  strong  H2S04,  added  drop  by  drop, 
and  cooling  after  each  addition.  The  liquid  is  then  added  to  20 
mils  of  water  and  extracted  with  10  mils  of  amyl  alcohol.  On  treat- 
ing the  alcoholic  layer  with  5  mils  of  solution  of  potassium  carbonate 
(20  per  cent.),  a  green  or  bluish  coloration,  changing  to  red  on  the 
addition  of  sulphuric  acid,  is  produced  if  safrol  be  present.  {Ann. 
Chim.  AppL,  1915,  3,  p.  372.) 
Japanese  Carbolic  Acid. — It  appears,  from  the  following  .news 
item,  that  the  interesting  people  of  Japan  are  getting  busy  to  manu- 
facture the  necessaries  from  coal  tar :  "  The  experimental  produc- 
tion by  the  Tokyo  Gas  Company  of  benzol,  naphthalene,  carbolic  acid, 
and  even  aniline  from  coal  tar  has  been  attended  with  results  that 
inspire  confidence."    This  company  expects  to  be  able  to  put  out. 
