Am.  .loxir.  Pharm, ) 
Ular.,  1883,  J 
Va7'i€iies. 
155 
possesses  these  properties  ;  but  Dutt,  in  his  Hindu  Materia  Medica,  says 
that  it  is  "cooling,  refrigerant,  diuretic,  and  laxative.  It  promotes  the  appe- 
tite, and  acts  as  a  tonic."  He  has  tried  it  carefully  in  several  cases  of  habit- 
ual constipation,  and  has  no  doubt  that  it  is  a  valuable  addition  to  the  list 
of  laxatives.  It  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  a  natural  fruit,  and  not  an 
artificial  preparation.  It  may  be  eaten  at  dinner  or  dessert.  It  is  most 
valuable  for  children.— iV.  C.  Med.  Jour.,  Nov.,  1882. 
The  Distribution  of  Asphalts. — Bituminous  substances,  apparently 
of  organic  origin,  are  found  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  Sometimes  they 
occur  in  a  free  state,  as  in  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  and  at  others  impreg- 
nating calcareous  rocks,  or  serving  as  a  cement  to  hold  the  particles  to- 
gether, as  at  Val  de  Travers  or  Seyssel. 
For  several  reasons  the  asphalt  lake  in  Trinidad  possesses  special  interest 
for  us.  The  island,  which  is  the  southernmost  of  the  Lesser  Antilles,  lies- 
off  the  northern  coast  of  South  America,  and  is  easily  accessible  from  any 
of  our  sea-ports.  Here,  amid  the  most  luxuriant  vegetation,  is  a  lake  three 
miles  in  circumference,  on  the  surface  of  which  lies  a  crust  of  asphaltum 
of  such  tenacity  that  in  the  rainy  season  a  person  can  walk  across  it ;  but, 
under  the  influence  of  the  hot  sun  it  softens  to  a  thick  tar.  This  crust  re- 
ceives accessions  from  beneath,  and  formerly  it  would  overflow  and  run 
into  the  sea,  more  than  two  miles  away.  A  similar  substance,  known  as 
"Jew's  pitch,"  is  washed  ashore  in  considerable  quantities  around  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Dead  Sea.  In  Texas,  south  of  Shreveport,  there  is  said  to  be  a. 
pitch  lake  containing  large  quantities  of  bitumen,  but  little  is  yet  known 
about  it.  In  Southern  California  there  are  accumulations  of  asphalt  on  the 
coast  at  Santa  Barbara,  San  Luis  Obispo,  etc.,  which  resembles,  when  pure, 
that  from  Trinidad.  It  promises  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  western  coast, 
as  Trinidad  will  that  of  the  eastern  part  of  this  country. 
In  Kentucky  there  is  a  considerable  quantity  of  asphaltic  mineral  which 
may  some  time  be  utilized  for  road-making. 
An  interesting  and  valuable  asphaltic  mineral,  known  as  Albertite,  is 
found  in  New  Brunswick  ;  and  a  similar  one,  called  Grahamite,  occurs  in 
West  Virginia  and  other  parts  of  the  country.  In  the  mountains  west  of 
Denver,  in  Colorado,  is  a  vertical  bed  of  hard  and  brittle  asphalt,  not  un- 
like Grahamite,  while  Albertite  is  found  in  small  quantities  in  Lorain 
county,  Ohio,  and  Casey  county,  Kentucky. 
Bitumen  is  likewise  found  in  Cuba,  and  is  brought  into  commerce  under 
the  name  of  chapopote,  or  Mexican  asphalt. 
In  Europe  asphalt  occurs  chiefly  in  limestone,  which  forms,  when 
crushed  and  packed,  an  excellent  pavement.  The  principal  points  at  which 
it  is  found  are  the  following :  Val  de  Travers,  in  the  Swiss  Canton  of  Neuf- 
chatel,  fourteen  miles  from  Neufchatel,  and  sixteen  or  seventeen  miles  by 
rail  from  the  French  borders ;  Seyssel,  on  the  Rhone,  in  the  French  de- 
partment of  the  Ain,  about  thirty-three  miles  from  Geneva;  Lobsann,  a 
small  town  in  northern  Alsace  ;  Vorwohle,  in  Braunschweig;  and  Limmer^ 
near  the  city  of  Hanover.  The  Italian  province  of  Caserta,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Naples,  supplies  Rome  with  an  asphalt  much  used  for  terraces- 
and  flat  roofs.— i^/'om  American  and  Foreign  Asphalts,^^  by  E.  J.  Hal- 
lock,  in  Popular  Science  Monthly  for  December. 
