USEFUL PROPERTIES OF BENZOLE, ETC. 
329 
the results, what must have been his mortification to find 
that the substance he had used was not Dutch liquid at all, 
but appeared to be a mixture of chloroform and spirit ! 
The physical characters of chloroform and Dutch liquid are 
so similar that they cannot be distinguished by taste, smell, 
or general appearance; and the addition of a little spirit to 
chloroform, gives to the latter the property of burning, and 
reduces its specific gravity, so as to assimilate in these 
respects with Dutch liquid. The fraud was ultimately de- 
tected in the case alluded to by mixing some of the spurious 
article with water, when the spirit was separated, reducing 
the volume of the liquid to one-half, and this was found to 
be no longer combustible. 
The practice of medicine is either based upon principles 
which have been established by the careful observation of 
the action of remedial agents, or it is a system of quackery 
and deception Yet it is obvious that all observations must 
be worse than worthless, and that no step can be taken in 
the advancement of the science of medicine as a remedial 
art, unless well defined agents be employed, and their 
identity be constantly maintained. How great, then, is the 
responsibility of the dispenser of medicines! How greatly 
is the physician dependent upon his intelligence, integrity, 
and skill! — and how much does it behove the public to 
require that those who are engaged in the administration of 
medicine shall be competent for the performance of their 
responsible duties ! — Pharm. Jour. 
ART. LXXIX. — ON SOME USEFUL PROPERTIES OF BENZOLE, 
AND ON A PRACTICAL MODE OF PREPARING IT. 
By Charles Blachford Mansfield, B. A. 
Benzole dissolves many substances with extreme readi- 
ness and in large quantities, such as many resins, mastic, 
camphor, wax, fatty and essential oils, caoutchouc and 
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