266 
Varieties. 
\m.  lour.  Pharm.. 
May,  1879. 
employed  by  the  Parisian  perfumers.  It  is  a  coarse-grained, -yellow  wood,  and  scarcely- 
ornamental  enough  to  be  sought  for  cabinet  work. 
The  Lignum  aloes,  Garoe,  Calambak,  or  eagle-wood  of  commerce,  is  of  all  per- 
fumes that  most  esteemed  by  Oriental  nations.  The  trees  from  which  it  is  obtained 
are  not  well  defined.  The  best  is  supposed  to  be  from  Aloexylon  Agallochum  (Lour.) 
of  Cochin  China,  while  the  Aquilaria  o-vata  (Cav.),  and  A.  Agallocha  (Roxb.),  of 
tropical  Asia,  furnish,  it  is  believed,  other  kinds  of  aloe-wood.  All  are  highly 
fragrant  and  aromatic,  and  occasionally  used  by  cabinet-makers  and  inlayers. 
Aquilaria  Agallocha  (Roxb.)  is  a  medium-sized  tree  growing  in  Borneo,  Sumatra, 
and  Java  in  the  high  regions.  The  wood  is  compact,  of  a  yellow  color  streaked 
with  black.  By  rubbing,  however,  it  only  gives  forth  an  odor  of  rhubarb,  which  is 
also  palpable  in  slicing  the  wood.  The  most  esteemed  kinds  of  this  wood  are 
obtained  from  the  mountainous  countries  of  Cambodia  and  Cochin  China,  to  the- 
east  of  the  Gulf  of  Siam.  It  is  the  decaying  old  heart-wood  which  is  burnt  for 
perfume. 
Incense  wood  is  the  fragrant  product  of  Icica  guyanensis. 
In  conclusion,  it  may  be  added  that,  while  some  woods  attract  by  their  pleasant 
odor,  others  are  so  obnoxious  that  they  have  obtained  the  appropriate  names  of 
stink-woods  Of  this  we  have  an  example  in  .the  stink-wood  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  ( Laurus  bullata),  which  has  a  very  disagreeable  smell  when  cut  5  hence  its- 
vernacular  name.  The  brown-colored  wood  is  durable,  takes  a  good  polish,  and 
might  probably  be  employed  for  cabinets  for  natural  history  collections  as  it  is  not 
attacked  by  insects. — Jour.  Applied  Science^  March  1,  1879. 
VARIETIES. 
A  New  Coffee  Adulterant. — In  the  recent  annual  report  of  the  principal  of  the 
Inland  Revenue  Laboratory,  some  observations  were  made  on  a  new  method  of 
adulterating  coffee,  which  has  lately  been  detected.  The  adulterant  in  question 
consists  of  date-stonesy  which,  after  being  roasted  and  ground,  form  such  an  imitation, 
of  coffee  as  would,  when  mixed  with  the  genuine  article,  easily  deceive  the  consumer,.. 
Information  received  by  the  Inland  Revenue  authorities  at  Somerset  House  from  a 
supervisor  at  Liverpool  has  led  to  an  early  discovery  and  suppression  by  the  Somerset 
House  authorities  of  this  new  mode  of  adulteration.  Many  tons  of  date-stones  (a 
refuse  from  the  manufacture  of  spirits  at  a  distillery  in  Liverpool,  and  which  had 
hitherto  been  considered  useless)  were  being  bought  by  a  foreigner  to  be  forwarded  to 
Manchester,  and  supposed  to  be  intended  as  an  adulterant  of  coffee.  It  was  subse- 
quently ascertained  that  a  manufactory  had  been  established  in  that  city  for  the  prep- 
aration of  "  Melilotine  coffee  " — a  mixture  of  coffee,  chicory  and  date-stones.  OF 
this  "  Melilotine  coffee,1''  and  of  the  prepared  date-stones,  several  tons  had  been 
seized.  The  early  detection  of  this  adulterant  has  prevented  the  consumption  of  any- 
large  quantity  of  the  "coffee." — Louisville  Med.  Ne-ivs,  March  15. 
