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ON  THE  CHEMICAL  HISTORY  OF  LUPULIN. 
can  be  condemned,  as  it  is  a  distinct  chemical  substance. 
The  time  has  gone  by  for  fastidiousness  in  reference  to 
the  source  of  chemica-ls ;  to  the  chemist  all  matter  is  inte- 
resting, and  where  his  skill  suffices  to  purify  a  well  charac- 
terized substance,  it  should  stand  on  its  own  merits,  and  not  be 
judged  by  its  origin.  Had  this  principle  been  carried  out  we 
might  yet  have  been  receiving  our  muriate  of  ammonia  from  the 
sublimations  of  camel's  dung,  or  our  other  ammoniacal  salts  wholly 
from  the  distillation  of  animal  matter,  instead  of  resorting  to 
that  interesting  source  of  chemical  wealth-— the  coal  tar  liquor 
of  the  gas  works. 
In  relation  to  the  peculiar-  odor  of  benzoic  acid  sublimed  from 
benzoin — -due  to  an  empyreumatic  oil — we  have  no  reason  to 
believe  it  is  concerned  in  the  medicinal  power  of  the  acid,  else 
the  other  legitimate  mode  of  making  it  in  the  wet  way,  by  boil- 
ing the  benzoin  with  lime  on  an  alkali  and  precipitation  by 
muriatic  acid,  would  be  objectionable.  Benzoic  acid  is  used  in 
perfumery,  and  for  such  use  the  sublimed  acid  no  doubt  has 
peculiar  advantages,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  the  physician  and 
pharmaceutist  should  be  deprived  of  a  purer  article  at  a  cheaper 
rate. 
CHEMICAL  HISTORY  OF  LUPULIN. 
By  M.  J.  Pe&sonne. 
The  author,  in  the  October  number  of  the  "  Journal  de  Phar- 
macie"  commenced  his  essay  by  giving  the  natural  history  of 
Lupulin,  based  on  a  careful  study  of  its  development,  with  the 
microscope.  Passing  this  by  for  the  present,  we  propose  to  give 
a  notice  of  his  results  in  the  second  part  of  his  essay  contained 
in  the  November  number  of  the  same  Journal. 
The  matter  contained  in  the  grains  of  lupulin  has  a  complex 
composition.  The  principles  are  of  two  kinds,  those  which  are 
obtained  by  distillation  with  water,  and  those  which  are  not 
volatile  with  aqueous  vapor. 
The  distillate  consists  of  an  acid  distilled  water  on  which 
floats  a  volatile  oil  sometimes  of  a  beautiful  green  color ;  and  3VL 
Personne  found  that  recent  lupulin  yielded  more  oil  and  less 
acid  than  old  lupulin. 
