^mAu0£!'iS2arm'}     •   Useful  Varieties  of  Nutmegs.  435 
saponifies,  also,  might  make  it  useful  to  mix  with  other  oils  to  accel- 
erate their  saponification.  As  a  lubricant  it  might  in  certain  cases 
be  applicable,  its  low  acidity,  and  its  small  tendency  to  deposit  solid 
matter  or  to  "  gum  "  being  properties  that  recommend  it  for  this 
purpose.  The  oil  dissolves  readily  in  acetone  and  more  sparingly 
in  alcohol  or  glacial  acetic  acid. 
The  viscosity  was  determined  roughly  by  observing  the  time  of 
flow  of  5  cc.  of  the  oil  through  a  burette  with  a  capillary  point,  and 
comparing  the  results  with  standard  oils. 
t  ==  i8°  to  190  C. 
Maize. 
Olive. 
Colza. 
Mineral 
"  901  " 
Specific  gravity,  
Viscosity,  
(Colza  =  ioo)  Colza  (water 
0-924 
i77-3/' 
6i-i 
0-918 
244-5" 
84-3 
0-915 
290'0// 
IOO 
0.910 
243 
83-9 
~  i),   
257 
35  "4 
42-0 
35"2 
Maize  oil  thus  possesses  a  striking  individuality.  In  general,  it 
may  be  said  that  in  properties  it  is  somewhat  akin  to  cotton-seed 
oil.  At  the  same  time  there  are  differences  between  them  which 
are  very  marked. 
THE  USEFUL  VARIETIES  OF  NUTMEGS.1 
By  Pr,  Warburg. 
The  oldest  works  making  mention  of  the  nutmeg  speak  of  several 
kinds  which  must  have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  earliest  Dutch 
travellers.  In  1596,  before  the  conquest  of  Banda,  Linschoten 
mentioned  two  kinds  of  nutmeg — round  and  long — and  in  1605, 
Clusius  gave  drawings  of  a  fruit  branch  of  Nux  myristicamus,  as 
well  as  the  ordinary  nutmeg. 
In  several  of  the  older  drawings  of  Piso  and  Valentini  the  leaves 
of  the  true  nutmeg  are  incorrectly  associated  with  the  fruit  of  this 
second  variety.  The  term  Pala  metsiri,  often  used  by  Piso,  is  prob- 
ably also  based  upon  a  confusion  of  the  true  nutmeg  with  a  variety. 
However,  it  is  on  the  whole  clear  what  is  meant,  and  there  is  no 
1  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Berlin  Pharmaceutical  Society,  June  2  ; 
reprinted  from  Phar.  Journal  and  Trans.,  July  2,  1892,  p.  11. 
