146     SOPHISTICATION  OF  RECTIFIED  OIL  OF  AMBER,  ETC. 
body  rich  in  olein  and  poor  in  stearin  and  margarin,  in  the 
place  of  bodies  rich  in  stearin  and  margarin  and  poor  in  olein, 
such  as  the  fats  taken  in  normal  food. 
"  The  practical  conclusion  from  these  considerations  appears 
to  be,  that  if  we  are  to  give  a  fair  chance  of  recovery  to  a 
patient  deprived  of  the  natural  powers  of  digesting  and  assimi- 
lating fats,  we  must,  by  one  means  or  another,  secure  that  two 
ounces  of  fat  of  average  solidity  are  utilized  every  day  for  the 
purposes  of  nutrition,  and  an  additional  ounce  or  two  to  make  up 
for  arrears." 
If  the  pancreatic  juice  of  the  pig  artificially  introduced  into 
the  digestive  apparatus  does  really  cause  a  fair  proportion  of 
this  amount  of  fat  to  be  assimilated,  the  pig's  "  sweetbread " 
must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  articles  of 
the  Materia  Medica.  B. 
The  Chemist  and  Druggist,  Jan.  15,  1866. 
NOTES  ON  THE  SOPHISTICATION  OF  RECTIFIED  OIL  OF 
AMBER,  OLEUM  SUCCINI  RECTIFICATUM,  U.  S.  P. 
By  Albert  E.  Ebert. 
Having  recently  observed  that  a  specimen  of  "  rectified  oil  of 
amber  "  was  insoluble  in  stronger  alcohol,  a  further  investiga- 
tion of  the  subject  was  deemed  desirable.  The  oil  in  question, 
upon  a  closer  examination,  was  found  to  have  none  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  genuine  article,  as  described  in  the  books,  but  to 
bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  "  Kerosene,"  or  some  similar 
product  obtained  by  the  distillation  of  petroleum  or  bituminous 
coal.  I  procured  several  specimens  of  the  oil,  from  different 
sources,  with  the  idea  of  ascertaining  the  quality  of  it  as  found, 
at  present,  in  the  market. 
None  of  these  samples  bore  any  analogy  to  the  genuine  oil, 
but  appeared  to  be  sophistications.  Two  of  the  five  samples  I 
obtained  corresponded  with  the  original  specimen  in  resemblance 
to  Kerosene  while  an  equal  number  appeared  to  be  merely  re- 
unified oil  of  turpentine.  These  latter  specimens  were  obtained 
from  dispensing  Pharmaceutists,  while  the  remaining  ones 
("Kerosene  variety")  were  furnished  by  reliable  wholesale 
