Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Mar.  1876.  j 
V arieties. 
133 
The  following  furnishes  a  liniment  which  is  miscible  with  spirit  in  the  proportion 
of  one  to  seven,  and  with  oils  in  any  proportion,  and  which  retains  its  transparency 
at  a  temperature  considerably  below  the  freezing  point  of  water:  camphor,  240 
grains;  oil  of  turpentine,  2  fluidounces  ;  dissolve,  filter  and  add  castor  oil,  2 
fluidounces,  and  glacial  acetic  acid,  solid  at  6o°  F.,  4  fluidrachms. — Pharm.  Jour, 
and  Trans.)  1875,  Oct. 
Ammoniacum,  according  to  Prof.  W.  Dymock,  is  received,  at  Bombay,  in  bales 
■containing  all  parts  of  the  plant,  broken  up  and  encrusted  with  the  gum  resin, 
which  appears  to  exude  from  every  part,  even  the  fruit  being  coated  with  it,  and  to 
be  collected  after  the  plant  his  matured  its  fruit.  In  Bombay  it  is  picked  and 
usually  sorted  into  three  qualities,  large,  middle-sized  and  small  tears,  the  latter 
often  containing  dirt  and  other  refuse.  If  kept  during  the  monsoon,  the  tears  get 
soft  and  unite  into  a  lump. 
Dorema  root  is  an  article  of  commerce  in  Bombay,  being  imported  from  Persia 
under  the  name  of  Boi,  and  used  in  the  Parsee  fire  temples  as  an  incense.  It  has  a 
thin,  papery  bark,  like  sumbul  root,  but  is  compact  and  has  a  resinous  section,  its 
texture  becoming  loose  and  spongy  by  age  and  the  ravages  of  insects.  Some  years 
ago  it  was  sent  to  Europe  as  Bombay  sumbul,  after  having  been  cut  up  and 
impregnated  with  musk. — Ibid.,  Oct.  23. 
Tellurium  a  probable  impurity  in  bismuth  salts. — Mr.  Charles  Ekin,  having  called 
attention  to  the  intolerable  smell  of  garlic  imparted  to  the  breath  of  patients,  after 
having  taken  a  simple  bismuth  mixture,  publishes  extracts  from  some  letters,  show- 
ing that  similar  observations  have  been  made  by  others.  Mr.  Geo.  Brownen 
attributes  this  effect  to  the  presence  of  tellurium,  and  both  gentlemen  are  now 
•engaged  in  further  investigating  this  subject. — Ibid.,  Dec.  25. 
VARIETIES. 
Balsam  Peru  Adulterated  with  Alcohol. — A.  Gavalowski  recommends 
the  following  test  as  being  easier  of  execution  and  as  reliable  as  the  distillation 
test:  Add  a  few  drops  of  the  balsam  to  a  solution  of  potassium  bichromate  in  a 
test-tube,  and  then  add  concentrated  sulphuric  acid.  In  the  presence  of  alcohol 
aldehyd  will  be  formed,  the  smell  of  which  (somewhat  similar  to  that  of  rotten 
apples)  will  be  distinctly  perceived,  since  it  quite  covers  that  of  the  balsam  itself. 
Even  mere  traces  of  alcohol  are  said  to  be  recognizable. — Pharm.  Ceniralh.  in  Ny 
pharm.  Tid.,  1875,  P-  345-  H.  W. 
Mistura  Glycyrrhiz^e  Composita — A.  F.  W.  Neynaber  proposes  in  the 
"  Druggists'  Circular "  for  February,  the  following  modification  of  the  officinal 
formula  : 
"Take  half  a  troyounce  of  best  Calabria  liquorice,  cut  it  into  slices  about  J  inch 
thick,  introduce  it  into  a  glass  percolator  or  funnel,  using  cotton  and  linen  at  the 
bottom  and  short  straw  as  a  layer  between  the  liquorice,  and  having  closed  the  out- 
