110  Gleanings  from  the  European  Journals.  {^J1!;^ 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  EUROPEAN  JOURNALS. 
By  the  Editor. 
Water  in  Volatile  Oils. — George  Leuchs  observed  that  volatile  oilsv 
which  have  been  obtained  by  distillation  with  water,  contain  water 
even  if  perfectly  clear.  On  mixing  them  with  petroleum-benzin,  a 
turbidity  is  produced  by  the  separation  of  water.  The  volatile  oils 
of  lavender,  cloves,  spike,  cinnamon,  rosemary,  sassafras  and  juniper 
were  found  to  contain  water  ;  also  oil  of  lemon  and  bergamot.  Mere 
traces  of  water  were  observed  in  Portugal  and  wintergreen  oil,  while 
the  oils  of  turpentine,  cedar,  lemon,  rue  and  amber  were  found  free 
of  water. — Journal  f.  prakt.  Chemie,  1872,  159. 
Process  for  bleaching  the  oils  of  rapeseed,  poppyseed  and  flaxseeds 
— C.  Puscher  recommends  to  mix  100  kilograms  of  the  oil  with  2  kilo- 
grams of  a  mixture  obtained  from  equal  weights  of  96  per  cent,  alco- 
hol and  sulphuric  acid.  The  sulphovinic  acid  mixes  uniformly  with 
the  oil,  the  mixture  soon  shows  a  green  turbidity,  which  afterwards 
becomes  black,  and  in  24  to  48  hours  separates  as  a  black  sediments 
Poppy-  and  rapeseed  oils  are  now  colorless,  while  linseed  oil  shows, 
in  thick  layers  merely  a  yellowish  tint.  The  decanted  oils  require  to 
be  washed  by  agitation  with  hot  water,  to  remove  traces  of  sulphuric- 
acid. — Chem.  Centralbl.,  1872,  No.  52,  from  Bayr.  Ind.  u.  Grew.  Bh* 
1872. 
Corks  saturated  with  paraffin  are  used  for  corking  bottles  contain- 
ing alcoholic  or  caustic  liquids.  Ruschhaupt  prepares  them  as  fol- 
lows :  Paraffin  is  fused  in  a  suitable  vessel,  the  dry  corks  are  added 
and  immersed  in  the  paraffin  by  means  of  a  perforated  cover  or  disc 
The  air  is  now  easily  expelled  from  the  pores  of  the  corks,  which,, 
after  about  five  minutes,  are  removed  and  cooled  ;  they  may  now  be 
cut  and  bored  like  wax,  are  easily  driven  into  the  necks  of  bottles 
and  readily  removed,  retain  their  smoothness  and  are  gas-tight  through- 
out.— Apoth.  Zeitung,  1872,  No.  50. 
A  new  remedy  for  tooth-ache  is  recommended  by  Dr.  Dop,  who  in- 
jects into  the  gum  near  the  aching  tooth  some  chloroform,  of  which 
two  drops  are  usually  sufficient  for  the  severest  cases.  Occasionally 
a  second  injection  becomes  necessary,  which  is  always  successful. — 
Ibid.,  1873,  No.  1,  from  Revue  med.  de  Toulouse,  1872. 
