Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Mar.  1,  1873.  / 
Varieties. 
133 
tified  in  the  manner  just  described,  because  so  treated  it  remains  perfectly  pure 
and  without  any  action  upon  iodides  even  in  that  warm  climate,  provided  the 
bottles  containing  it  were  well  stoppered  and  kept  quite  full. —  Chem.  News, 
Jan.  10th,  1873,  from  Journ.  de  Pharm.  et  de  Chim.,  Dec.,  1872. 
Artificial  Ivory. — William  A.  Welling's  patent  for  the  manufacture  of  aiti- 
Ificial  ivory,  has  lately  been  extended  by  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  for  seven 
years.  The  article  is  composed  of  10  ounces  of  white  shellac,  4|  ounces  of  ace- 
tate of  lead,  8  ounces  of  ivory  dust,  and  5  ounces  of  camphor.  The  ingredients 
are  reduced  to  powdeV,  heated,  and  mixed  ;  then  pressed  in  heated  moulds  into 
sheets  or  other  desired  forms. —  Canad.  Pharm.  Journ.,  Jan.,  1873,  from.  Amer. 
Chemist. 
Furniture  Polish. — Scrape  one  pound  of  beeswax  into  shavings  in  a  pan  ;  add 
half  a  gallon  spirits  of  turpentine,  and  one  pint  linseed  oil.  Let  it  remain  twelve 
hours,  then  stir  it  well  with  a  stick,  into  a  liquid  ;  while  stirring,  add  one  quar- 
ter pound  shellac  varnish  and  one  ounce  alkanet  root.  Put  this  mixture  into 
a  gallon  jar,  and  stand  it  before  the  fire,  or  in  an  oven,  for  a  week  (to  keep  it 
just  warm),  shake  it  up  three  or  four  times  a  day.  Then  strain  it  through  a 
hair  sieve  and  bottle  it.  Pour  about  a  teaspoonful  on  a  wad  of  baize,  go  lightly 
over  the  face  and  other  parts  of  mahogany  furniture,  then  rub  briskly  with  a 
similar  wad  dry,  and  in  three  minutes  it  will  produce  a  dark  brilliant  polish  un* 
equalled.  Another  preparation  may  be  made  as  follows  :  Make  a  mixture  of 
three  parts  linseed  oil  and  one  part  of  spirits  of  turpentine.  It  not  only  covers 
the  disfigured  surface,  but  restores  wood  to  its  original  color,  and  leaves  a 
lustre  upon  the  surface.  Put  on  with  a  woollen  cloth,  and  when  dry  rub  with 
woollen.—  Canad.  Pharm.  Journ.  Jan.,  1873. 
Ground  Nuts  or  Pea  Nuts. — There  is  hardly  an  article  of  American  produc- 
tion, of  apparently  so  little  note,  that  has  grown  so  rapidly  in  importance  as  the 
pea  nut.  There  are  fully  550.000  bushels  sold  annually  in  the  city  of  New  York 
ulone.  Previous  to  1860,  the  total  product  of  the  United  States  did  not  amount 
to  more  than  150,000  bushels,  and  of  this  total,  full  five  sixths  were  from  North 
Carolina.  Now  North  Carolina  produces  125,000  bushels  ;  Virginia,  300,000 
bushels;  Tennessee,  50,000  bushels;  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  each  25,000 
bushels;  while  from  Africa  come  about  100,000  bushels  a  year.  What  is  done 
•with  all  these  pea  nuts  ?  In  this  country  they  are  eaten,  and  sent  all  over  the 
land,  from  Maine  to  Oregon  for  this  purpose.  The  demand  is  greater  than  the 
supply.  In  France  they  are  used  for  making  oil,  which  is  by  many  considered 
to  be  superior  to  the  best  olive  oil  for  salad  purposes.  In  the  Southern  States 
during  the  war,  it  was  so  used.  The  oil  made  was  also  used  as  a  lubricator, 
and  as  a  substitute  for  lard,  while  the  cake  residuum  was  ground,  roasted,  and 
sold  as  a  substitute  for  coffee.  At  present  pea  nuts  are  not  used  in  this  coun 
try  for  oil,  the  price  being  too  high.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  their  uses  are 
extensive  and  varied,  and  that  the  crop  which  now  yields  over  £2,250,000,  and 
which  did  not  add  to  the  commerce  of  the  country  more  than  $200,000  ten 
