#!j£?«8S,.nB"}    -Discovery  of  Mineral  Wax  in  Utah.  3  1 9 
Curcas  purgans. — The  seeds  of  this  well-known  plant  are  used  as 
a  purgative  and  emetic,  under  the  name  of  physic  nut. 
Anacardium  occidentale. — This  is  called  by  the  natives  the  caus- 
tic plant,  the  oily  secretion  in  the  pericarp  being  used  for  destroying 
warts,  etc. 
Icica  species. — This  resin  was  received  from  Liberia  under  the  name 
of  copal,  but  it  is  evidently  a  kind  of  elemi,  possibly  identical  with  the 
African  elemi  presented  to  the  Museum  by  the  late  Dr.  Ure. 
Externally,  the  Liberian  elemi  seems  of  very  inferior  quality,  pre- 
senting a  dirty,  blackish  appearance,  the  white  opaque  porous  resin  only 
showing  here  and  there.  The  odor  closely  resembles  that  of  elemi  ;  it 
is,  however,  very  much  drier  and  more  friable  than  ordinary  specimens 
of  that  substance.  At  my  request,  Mr.  E.  Fielding  kindly  examined 
it,  and  reports  that  its  appearance  belies  its  quality.  The  following 
results  obtained  by  him  show  that  it  is  a  comparatively  pure  drug. 
Resin  soluble  in  cold  Alcohol,  o  845 
Resin  soluble  in  Ether,  .....  0120 
Black  insoluble  residue,    .....  0*035 
The  alcoholic  solution  is  surprisingly  pale  in  color,  no  darker  in  fact 
than  a  solution  of  sandarach  of  equal  strength,  which  is  the  more 
remarkable  when  the  aspect  of  the  crude  material  is  considered.  The 
black  insoluble  residue  which,  as  may  be  seen  above,  forms  only  three 
or  four  per  cent,  of  the  elemi,  on  incineration  and  subsequent  heating 
in  the  blowpipe  flame,  gives  to  the  blowpipe  flame  the  strong  purplish 
white  tint  indicative  of  potassium,  and  showing  almost  entire  freedom 
from  sodium.  When  separated  by  filtration  from  the  alcoholic  solution 
and  examined  under  the  microscope,  the  black  substance  is  seen  to  be 
of  vegetable  origin,  and  to  consist  almost  entirely  of  fungoid  or  algal 
filaments. —  Phar.  Jou*-.  and  Trans. ,  April  19,  1879. 
The  DISCOVERY  of  MINERAL  WAX,  Ozocerite,  in  UTAH. 
By  Professor  J.  S.  Newberry. 
I  have  obtained  some  of  the  recently-discovered  ozocerite  in  Salt 
Lake  City  from  Professor  J.  E.  Clayton,  to  whom  also  I  am  chiefly 
indebted  for  such  information  as  I  have  in  regard  to  its  place  and  man- 
ner of  occurrence.     He  writes  me  as  follows  :    "  The  geographical 
