466 
British  Pharmaceutical  Conference. 
f  A.m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I  September,  1898. 
SOME  COMMERCIAL  VARIETIES  OF  DILL  FRUITS  AND  THEIR 
ESSENTIAL  OILS. 
By  John  C.  Umney. 
The  dill  fruits  obtained  from  different  countries  by  J.  C.  Umney  do  not  show 
such  marked  difference  in  appearance  as  the  fennel  fruits  from  different  parts 
of  the  world,  but  the  differences  are  probably  of  greater  medicinal  importance. 
English,  Indian,  German  and  Japanese  dill  fruits  are  described,  and  analytical 
data  given  concerning  their  oils.  The  use  of  English  or  German  fruits  is 
recommended  for  the  preparation  of  dill  water,  and  preference  for  pharmaceu- 
tical purposes  is  given  to  the  oils  of  the  same  varieties. 
NOTES  ON  EXTRACT  OF  GINGER. 
By  T.  H.  W.  Idris. 
It  is  well  known  that  alcoholic  extract  of  ginger,  commercially  known  as 
"  gingerine,"  does  not  contain  all  the  aromatic  principles  of  the  root,  as  most 
of  the  essential  oil  is  carried  over  with  the  recovered  alcohol. 
In  the  course  of  experiments  to  produce  extract  of  ginger  that  would  con- 
tain the  whole  of  the  flavoring  and  odorous  principle,  it  was  found  that  acetone 
was  the  most  suitable  solvent,  boiling  as  it  does  at  560  C.  and  being  miscible 
with  water  in  all  proportions.  The  apparatus  used  consists  of  a  modification 
of  a  Soxhlet  on  a  manufacturing  scale.  If  some  powdered  ginger  be  exhausted 
in  a  Soxhlet  with  acetone,  and  afterwards  with  alcohol,  we  find  that  the  whole 
of  the  aromatic  and  pungent  principles  have  been  removed  by  the  acetone, 
showing  that  it  compares  favorably  with  alcohol  as  a  solvent.  The  acetone 
extract  does  not  appear  to  have  lost  any  of  its  volatile  oil  in  the  process  of 
recovery,  as  is  so  markedly  the  case  when  using  alcohol,  while  the  last  trace 
of  acetone  is  easily  removed  by  agitation  with  a  little  water.  This  acetone 
extract  is  a  dark-brown  substance  of  a  treacly  consistency,  intensely  pungent 
and  at  the  same  time  possessing  a  full  ginger  aroma,  the  quality  of  which 
largely  depends  on  the  variety  of  ginger  used. 
It  is  readily  soluble  in  alcohol,  forming  a  deep-brown  liquid.  If  steam  be 
passed  through  the  extract  and  then  condensed,  it  carries  over  a  quantity  of 
the  volatile  oil  with  it.  This  oil  floats  on  the  surface  of  the  condensed  water, 
forming  a  yellow  layer,  and  can  be  easily  removed.  The  difference  in  aroma 
of  the  various  kinds  of  ginger,  though  noticeable  enough  when  examining  the 
rhizome,  is  much  more  apparent  when  dealing  with  the  oils  themselves,  and 
in  this  way  a  method  of  distinguishing  the  variety  of  ginger  used  is  obtained. 
The  various  tinctures  and  essences  of  ginger  may  be  very  conveniently  and 
readily  prepared  from  this  extract  without  the  usual  loss  of  alcohol,  and  syrup 
may  be  flavored  with  it  by  proper  diffusion  at  a  suitable  temperature  without 
the  use  of  any  spirit,  and  a  further  saving  may  be  thus  effected  in  manufactur- 
ing ginger-flavored  beverages. 
AMOUNT  OF  CARBONIC  DIOXIDE  AVAILABLE  IN  THE  OFFICIAL 
GRANULAR  EFFERVESCENT  PREPARATIONS. 
By  C.  S.  Dyer. 
The  only  practical  method  of  determining  the  amount  of  gas  was  to  measure 
the  carbon  dioxide  volutnetrically.    The  apparatus  used  was  an  ordinary  Lunge 
