AmMaTch,Sym'}  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical '  Meeting.  159 
oil,  known  as  assahy  butter,  is  stated  to  be  prepared  from  Euterpe  oleracea, 
Marthis,  which  plant  is  known  as  jussdra  or  jissara,  a  name  also  given  to  the 
former  species,  according  to  some  authors. 
Bacaba  is  Oenocarpus  Bacaba,  Martins,  the  mucilaginous  fruit  of  which  is 
largely  used  for  food  by  the  natives  of  Brazil;  the  decoction  deposits  a  sediment, 
which,  on  being  dried  in  the  sun,  becomes  very  hard,  and  in  this  condition 
may  be  preserved  for  a  long  time,  but  on  softening  it  in  water  furnishes  a 
nutritious  food.  The  seeds  of  this  palm  and  of  Oenocarpus  distichus,  perhaps 
also  of  01.  Patawa,  Martins,  yields  a  fixed  oil  known  as  comou  butter,  which  is 
used  for  the  manufacture  of  soap  and  of  candles,  and  for  culinary  purposes. 
Among  what  may  be  termed  the  curiosities  of  the  trade,  the  actuary  exhibited 
a  mass  of  stone,  weighing  55  lbs.,  which  was  taken  from  a  case  of  Corigliano 
licorice,  in  which  it  had  been  packed  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  weight; 
such  a  wholesale  fraud  it  was  thought  should  be  traced  back  to  its  authors,  as 
it  was  most  deliberately  done. 
Mr.  A.  M.  Todd,  of  Nottawa,  Mich.,  was  introduced  by  Prof.  Trimble,  and, 
in  response  to  an  invitation,  proceeded  to  give  to  the  meeting  some  of  the 
results  of  his  experience  in  the  manufacture  of  oil  of  peppermint  and  menthol ; 
he  being  largely  engaged  in  that  industry. 
The  process  for  the  distillation  of  oil  of  peppermint  in  use  in  this  country, 
and  which  has  entirely  superseded  the  old  process,  was  introduced  about  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  and  consists  of  using  wooden  vessels,  steam  being  driven  through 
the  herb  placed  on  false  bottoms ;  the  vessels  are  of  such  capacity  that  fifty  tons 
of  herb  per  diem  of  twenty -four  hours  can  be  worked  off.  When  the  fresh  herb 
is  distilled,  it  requires  generally  an  hour  to  obtain  all  the  oil;  but  if  it  has  been 
partially  dried,  thirty  minutes  will  suffice  to  accomplish  the  purpose.  Formerly 
it  was  the  common  practice  to  allow  the  water  of  the  distillate  to  run  to  waste, 
and  this  occasioned  an  enormous  loss  of  oil ;  now,  after  the  oil  has  been  col- 
lected from  the  distillate,  this  is  again  used  to  steam  through  the  herb,  and,  as 
it  is  already  charged  with  all  the  oil  it  will  hold  in  solution,  it  effects  a  great 
saving  in  the  process.  The  condensation  is  effected  by  passing  the  distillate 
which  is  drawn  off  from  the  body  of  the  still  through  a  five-inch  pipe  into  a 
number  of  copper  pipes,  tinned  inside,  and  these  are  connected  with  block  tin 
worms,  two  inches  in  diameter  and  one  hundred  feet  long,  connected  with  the 
receivers.  The  first  portions  of  the  distillate  are  more  limpid  than  those  which 
are  drawn  off  afterward,  and  the  last  portion  is  more  resinous  and  bitter. 
To  obtain  the  menthol,  the  vessel,  which  he  calls  the  container,  has  an  inner 
vessel  for  the  purpose  of  refrigerating  the  oil,  and  is  surrounded  also  with  a 
wooden  refrigerating  vessel.  In  the  container  is  a  valve  above  the  bottom  from 
which  to  draw  off  the  uncongealed  oil.  The  oil  will,  in  rare  instances,  furnish 
crystals  without  artificial  cold,  but  generally  a  mixture  of  ice  and  salt  is  used 
for  refrigeration,  by  which  a  temperature  of  — 8°  F.  is  obtained.  However,  some 
specimens  of  oil  from  certain  localities  congeal  at  24°  F.,  this  being  about  the 
highest  temperature  at  which  the  natural  oil  from  true  peppermint  has  been 
observed  to  crystallize.  The  mass  of  crystals  at  first  more  resemble  paraffin 
than  regular  crystals,  but  if  care  is  taken  to  remove  the  fluid  portion  while  a 
low  temperature  is  maintained,  the  crystalline  formation  is  more  distinct,  and 
will  remain  solid  at  about  110°  F.  The  crystals  formed  towards  the  close  of  the 
process  are  harder  and  firmer.    The  commercial  crystals  are  finer  and  still  have 
