578 
Guaiacol. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1888. 
higher,  if  so  high,  as  between  80  and  90.  Now  if  any  one  calculates 
the  quantity  of  cotton-seed  oil  in  mixed  lard  giving  an  iodine-absorp- 
tion of  say  76,  using  105  as  the  iodine-absorption  of  the  foreign  fat, 
instead  of  90  or  under,  it  is  clear  that  he  will  greatly  under-estimate 
the  quantity  of  the  foreign  fat. 
2.  Liability  to  condemn  genuine  lard  which  is  more  oily  than  pork 
fat  or  lard  rendered  in  England. 
American  lard  contains  as  a  rule  naturally  much  more  olein  than 
English  lard.  If  some  of  the  lard  oil  has  not  been  pressed  out  the 
high  iodine-absorption  of  lard  oil — 75  to  80 — so  raises  the  iodine-ab- 
sorption of  the  thin  oily  lard,  that  an  analyst  judging  mainly  from  the 
iodine-absorption  would  infer  the  presence  of  cotton-seed  oil  where 
there  was  only  an  excess  of  lard  oil.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  be 
very  careful  in  determining,  first  the  presence  of  some  cotton-seed  oil 
by  safe  qualitative  tests  before  determining  the  iodine-absorption ;  and, 
further  to  take  into  consideration  the  consistence  of  the  sample  and  to 
attend  to  tests  for  beef-stearin. 
Allied  Notes. — Mr.  Fox  recently  found  fifty  per  cent,  of  earth-nut 
oil  in  lard  oil,  detecting  it  by  the  altered  sp.  gr.  and  the  presence  of 
arachidic  acid. 
Bechi's  test  can  be  used  to  detect  the  presence  of  margarin  which 
almost  invariably  contains  cotton- seed  oil,  in  butter  which,  if  pure, 
will  not  reduce  the  silver  solution. 
F.  X.  MOERK. 
ON  GUAIACOL. 
By  D.  J.  Leech. 
Creasote  is  a  composite  substance  containing  various  constituents, 
of  which  guaiacol,  or  catechol   (pyrocatechin)  monomethyl  ether 
{OH 
OCH  most  important,  60  to  90  per  cent,  of  beech  wood 
creasote  consisting  of  this  ether.  The  specimens  of  creasote  sold  for 
medicinal  purposes  are  by  no  means  uniform  as  regards  their  compo- 
sition, and,  not  unfrequently,  so-called  creasote  consists  chiefly  of  car- 
bolic acid. 
Guaiacol  is  a  highly  refractive  colorless  liquid,  with  an  aromatic 
smell,  slightly  soluble  in  water,  readily  so  in  alcohol  and  fixed  oils. 
The  statements  made  by  Sommerbrodt  and  Fraenkel  as  to  the  benefits 
derived  from  the  administration  of  creasote  in  phthisis,  led  Sahli  to  try 
