326 
Varieties. 
f  Am.  J  obr.  Pearm*. 
{     July  1,1873. 
well  of  the  nutritive  principles  of  flesh  as  of  those  other  principles, 
which  are  supposed  to  act  especially  as  corroborants  of  nervous  force,, 
— all  being  in  such  a  form  as  requires  the  least  expenditure  of  vital 
power  to  cause  their  digestion. 
It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss  the  comparative  merits  of  this  or- 
that  preparation  of  meat.  I  will  simply  quote  this  passage  from 
Liebig  :  "Were  it  ever  possible  to  furnish  the  market  at  a  reasonable 
price  with  a  preparation  combining  in  itself  the  albuminose  together 
with  the  extractive  principle,  such  a  preparation  would  have  to  be 
preferred  to  the  extractum  carnis  (Liebig's  Extract  of  Meat),  for  it 
would  contain  all  the  nutritive  constituents  of  meat;"  and  I  add  that 
Mr.  Valentine  has  made  good  progress  towards  the  realization  of  this, 
result. —  Virginia  Clinical  Record,  June,  187-3. 
Varieties* 
Adulteration  of  Copaiba  with  Castor  Oil. — Several  specimens  of  copaiba, 
balsam  adulterated  with  castor  oil  have,  within  the  past  year,  come  under  the> 
notice  of  Prof.  K.  S.  Wayne.  The  sophisticated  article  appeared  to  have  a 
greater  consistency  than  the  genuine  copaiba — a  somewhat  lighter  color.  To. 
the  taste  and  smell  no  great  difference  between  it  and  the  genuine  could  be 
observed  ;  its  superior  density  alone  was  what  caused  suspicipn  as  to  its  purity, 
and  led  to  an  examination  of  it  and  the  detection  of  the  ahove -named  adulte- 
rant. In  the  experiments  made  to  detect  the  adulterant,  it  was  found  that 
petroleum  benzin  was  a  quick  and  perfect  means  of  so  doing.  It  was  found 
that  the  pure  copaiba  was  perfectly  soluble  to  a  clear  solution  in  it,  and  that 
castor  oil  was  not.  It  formed  a  milky  mixture  upon  being  shaken  together., 
which  quickly  separated  into  a  denser  and  lighter  liquid,  the  lower  containing 
all  the  oil  The  suspected  article  was  mixed  in  a  test-tube  with  three  times  its. 
volume  of  benzin.  and  shaken  ;  a  milky  mixture  was  formed,  which  quickly 
separated  into  two  portions — the  upper  containing  in  solution  all  the  copaiba  j 
the  lower  the  castor  oil.  The  latter,  upon  further  examination,  was  found  to 
be,  as  mentioned,  castor  oil.  Hence,  castor  oil,  as  an  adulterant  of  copaiba,  is. 
one  of  the  most  readily  detected  of  the  many  substances  that  can  be  used  for 
the  purpose  ;  and  an  article  that  will  not  freely  and  entirely  dissolve  in  petro- 
leum benzin  must  be  rejected  as  impure.  Prom  further  experiments  with, 
other  substances,  such  as  Venice  turpentine,  true  and  artificial  and  other  fixed 
oils,  the  test  unfortunately  has  no  value. 
Note,  the  amouut  of  castor  oil  found  was  not  the  volume  separated  in  the 
lower  stratum,  but  about  50  per  cent,  of  that.  As  from  experiment  from  a 
measured  volume  in  a  test-tube,  the  lower  portion  separated  was  double  the 
volume  of  oil  used,  when  the  quantities  used  were  those  named  in  the  experi-* 
icent  above. —  Cincinnati  Lancet. 
