ON THE MODE OF ASCERTAINING THE PURITY OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF BITTER ALMONDS.

Mr. Redwood laid before the meeting some samples of oil of bitter almonds, prepared by different makers, together with the results of experiments he had made with the view of ascertaining whether or not they had been subjected to adulteration.

He stated, that his attention had been directed to the subject by more than one of the dealers in this article, in consequence of its having been represented that some of the samples had {206} been adulterated with alcohol, an inference which had been drawn from the fact that the suspected samples had a much lower specific gravity than others met with in commerce.

He had been furnished with five samples from different makers, the specific gravities of which were as follows:—

The merchants having no better mode of testing the quality of this oil than by its flavor, its specific gravity, and other physical characters, it was important to ascertain what reliance could be placed on this class of observations. It was well known that spirit was sometimes mixed with it, the effect of which would be to reduce its specific gravity, and this addition, to the extent to which it would be likely to be made, would not impair the flavor of the oil, or alter its sensible characters in any other way than is above stated. The light oils were, therefore, very naturally suspected to have been reduced with alcohol.

The experiments he had made in reference to this subject had fully satisfied him that the specific gravity of essential oil of bitter almonds, within certain limits, could not be relied on as affording evidence of purity or adulteration. The specimens on the table, to which he had already referred, although differing in specific gravity to the extent of nearly thirty grains in the thousand grain-measures, he believed to be all free from adulteration.

Before describing the tests which he had found to afford the most satisfactory indications, he described the proximate constituents of the crude oil, which vary considerably in proportion in different samples, and hence the differences in density and in some of the properties of the oil.

According to Liebig and Gregory, crude oil of bitter almonds consists of hyduret of benzoyle, hydrocyanic acid, benzoic acid, and benzoine, and these probably are not its only constituents. Of these the two first may be said to be essential constituents, and the others accidental, being the result of changes which {207} the hyduret of benzoyle, or true oil of bitter almonds, undergoes.

The hyduret of benzoyle has the ordinary characters of an essential oil. When pure it is a colorless, transparent liquid, the specific gravity of which is 1043. It possesses the peculiar almond flavor, and is not poisonous. This, which is the true oil of bitter almonds, ought to constitute about eighty-five or ninety per cent. of the crude oil. When oil of vitriol is added to pure hyduret of benzoyle the mixture acquires a dark reddish brown color, but no other visible change takes place.

If the hyduret of benzoyle be exposed to the air it speedily becomes oxidized, and by the substitution of an atom of oxygen for one of hydrogen it is converted into benzoic acid. The benzoic acid present in oil of bitter almonds is the result of this transformation, and sometimes it occurs to such an extent that it is deposited from the oil in crystals. Benzoic acid is not colored by the action of oil of vitriol.

Benzoine is also a product of a remarkable change which hyduret of benzoyle, when mixed with hydrocyanic acid, is liable to undergo. Like benzoic acid, it is a solid crystalline body, but unlike benzoic acid, when mixed with oil of vitriol, it forms a violet colored compound.

The characters and properties of hydrocyanic acid are too well known to require notice. It is this constituent, which is sometimes present to the extent of eight or ten per cent., that gives to oil of bitter almonds its poisonous properties.

In examining oil of bitter almonds, with the view of determining whether it be pure or not, it is necessary to consider the influence on the action of the reagents employed, of variations in the number and proportions of the several constituents present. This is especially the case with reference to the use of oil of vitriol as a test.

On adding oil of vitriol to the samples of oil under notice, it was found that it formed with all of them a clear but very dark colored mature, from which no separation took place. The color of the mixture thus produced, however, differed to a {208} greater or less extent in each case. The lightest of the oils produced a reddish-brown color, similar to that afforded by pure hyduret of benzoyle, while the heaviest oil formed a bright red mixture, having a shade of violet, and those of intermediate density gave intermediate shades of color.

These results, viewed in connection with the differences of density in the different specimens, were at first thought to indicate that the light specimens had some admixture foreign to the oil, but on examining the action of the test on pure hyduret of benzoyle and the other legitimate constituents of the crude oil, it was evident that such an inference could not be justly drawn, and, indeed, suspicion now seemed rather to attach to the heavy oil. Subsequent experiments, however, showed that the light oil distils at a lower temperature than the heavy, and that if the heaviest specimens were distilled with water, the first portions that passed over produced precisely the same reaction as the light specimens above referred to, while the last portions that passed over, and especially the oil obtained from the water by distilling it, after saturating it with common salt, produced with oil of vitriol a splendid crimson color, the purity and intensity of which could hardly be surpassed.

It thus became pretty evident that the differences in the reaction of oil of vitriol with the different specimens of oil under notice, arose from variations in the circumstances under which the oils were distilled, and it seemed probable that the heavy oil had been obtained by distilling the almond cake with water, to which a large quantity of salt had been added, so as to raise the point of ebullition, while the light oil either was the product of a process in which less salt had been added to the water, or consisted of the first portions distilled.

In order to obtain more satisfactory evidence of the absence of spirit, or other foreign substance, from these samples of oil, nitric acid was used as a test. If oil of bitter almonds be mixed with about twice its volume of nitric acid, of specific gravity 1.420, no immediate action occurs. The greater part of the oil floats over the surface of the acid, and, if the former be free {209} from adulteration, no change of color takes place within several hours in either; but after the lapse of three or four days crystals of benzoic acid will begin to be formed from the oxidation of the hyduret of benzoyle by the nitric acid, and these will increase in quantity until the whole becomes a solid mass of crystals, which will gradually assume a bright emerald green color. This reaction is very char­ac­ter­is­tic. If spirit be present in the oil to the extent of eight or ten per cent., the acid, after a few minutes, will begin to react upon this, and a violent effervescence will shortly ensue, accompanied by the disengagement of nitrous vapors.

By using strong nitric acid, of specific gravity not less than 1.5, the presence of a very minute quantity of spirit may be detected. The pure oil, when mixed with an equal volume of this strong acid, forms a clear and uniform mixture, from which nothing separates, and which undergoes but a very slight change of color and no other visible alteration. The presence of two or three per cent. of spirit, however, is sufficient to cause a violent reaction and the disengagement of nitrous vapors.

After trying several other reagents, the foregoing were those which were found to afford the most satisfactory results, and appeared to be conclusive with regard to those adulterations, likely to be practised.—Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Journal, London.

ON HOFFMAN’S ANODYNE LIQUOR. BY WILLIAM PROCTER, JR.

Perhaps in no preparation in general use does the practice of manufacturers, and the requirements of pharmacopœial authorities, more widely differ than in the compound spirit of {210} ether, universally known as Hoffman’s Anodyne Liquor. According to the United States and London Pharmacopœias it consists of three fluid drachms of heavy oil of wine (Oleum Ethereum, U. S. P.,) dissolved in a mixture of eight fluid ounces of ether and sixteen fluid ounces of alcohol. The Edinburgh Pharmacopœia has only the simple spirit of ether, without the oil of wine, whilst the Dublin Pharmacopœia of 1850 under the name of Spiritus Æthereus Oleosus, gives the following formula, which includes the preparation of the oil of wine and its subsequent solution, to make the anodyne:—Mix a pint of alcohol and a pint and a half of oil of vitriol in a glass matrass, adapt a Liebig’s condenser, and by heat distil until a black froth rises. Separate the lighter etherial liquid in the receiver, expose it for 24 hours in a capsule, wash the residual oil with water, and dissolve it in a mixture of five fluid ounces of ether, and ten fluid ounces of alcohol. In France, Hoffman’s anodyne consists of equal parts of ether and alcohol, without oil of wine.

Owing to the careless or intentionally mystified manner of expressing himself, it is impossible now to ascertain whether the original preparation of Hoffman (published in 1732) was constant in its strength, as now recommended by the Pharmacopœia. Beaumé, (as quoted in Macquer’s Chem. Dict., London, 1771,) says, in speaking of the rectification of sulphuric ether, “By distilling the liquor in the first receiver, together with a very small quantity of oil of tartar, by a very gentle heat of a lamp furnace, about two pounds and four ounces of pure ether may be obtained; and afterwards, when a new receiver is adapted, and a stronger heat applied, from eight to ten ounces of aromatic liquor, which makes a good anodyne mineral liquor of Hoffman, will be distilled.”

The third edition of Lewis’ Dispensatory, published at Dublin, 1768, has the following formula for this preparation, which appears to be what the apothecaries of that day employed:—

“Hoffman’s Mineral Anodyne Liquor.”

Into half a pound of concentrated oil of vitriol, placed in a {211} large glass retort, pour by little and little, through a long stemmed funnel, one pint and a half of highly rectified spirit of wine. Stop the mouth of the retort, digest for some days, and then distil with a very gentle heat. At first a fragrant spirit of wine will arise; and after it a more fragrant volatile spirit, to be caught in a fresh receiver. The receiver being again changed, a sulphurous, volatile, acid phlegm comes over, and at length a sweet oil of vitriol, which should be immediately separated, lest it be absorbed by the phlegm. Mix the first and second spirits together, and in [every] two ounces of this mixture dissolve twelve drops of the sweet oil. If the liquor has any sulphurous smell, re-distil it from a little salt of tartar.

“Whether this is the exact preparation, so much recommended and so often prescribed by Hoffman as an anodyne and anti-spasmodic, we cannot determine. We learn from his own writings that his anodyne liquor was composed of the dulcified spirit of vitriol, [crude ether] and the aromatic oil which rises after it; but not in what proportions he mixed them together. The College of Wirtemburg seems to think that all the oil was mixed with all the spirit obtained in one operation without regard to the precise quantities.”

The product of this recipe must have been analogous to the present officinal spirit, the formula for which is evidently modeled after it. The great excess of alcohol distills over first, until the boiling point rises to the ether producing temperature, when ether is obtained, and finally the sulphurous oily product. The recipe gives no direction to isolate the oil of wine before measuring it, which is perhaps less necessary, as the ethereal part of the distillate is removed previously to the production of the oil which is found in the receiver in globules, and not in solution.

The process now adopted by the manufacturers in this city, avoids the isolation of the oil of wine, and from the nature of the conditions the product is liable to vary in the proportions of its ingredients, not only in different laboratories, but at different operations in the same laboratory. In the preparation of ether it is usual in this city to push the process as far as {212} possible, as long as the residue is not so concentrated as to eliminate much permanent gas. In the rectification of this first crude product, the distillate is reserved as rectified ether as long as its specific gravity marks 54° Beaumé, or there about. By continuing the process the product is found to consist of ether, alcohol and water, impregnated with oil of wine. Every one who has made ether, knows how very liable the product is to vary with an ill regulated heat; on the one hand unaltered alcohol will pass over, if the temperature is too low, whilst too great a heat, especially towards the last of the process, will favor the formation of oil of wine and sulphurous acid. This last distillate, therefore, will vary in composition, and it is from this that Hoffman’s anodyne is made in some of the best of our laboratories. There is no known practicable method of ascertaining the per centage of heavy oil of wine in this liquid. The means used by the manufacturer are founded on the sensible properties of an arbitrary standard specimen of Hoffman’s anodyne previously made, and on the degree of opalesence or milkiness it produces when added to a certain measure of water.—This milkiness is occasioned by the oil of wine present; but experience has shown that the degree of milkiness is not strictly in proportion to the quantity of oil present, the relative proportion of ether and alcohol, and perhaps water present in the anodyne liquid has a marked influence on the phenomenon; if too much alcohol, the milkiness is not produced, or but partially; if too much ether, oily globules separate and float with but moderate opalescence. In converting this second etherial distillate into commercial Hoffman’s anodyne, the operator has to make several essays, sometimes adding water, sometimes alcohol or ether, until the taste, the smell, and the opalescence agree, as nearly as can be approached, with his standard specimen. In the process of rectification it is probable that at least a part of the heavy oil of wine is decomposed, with the production of the light oil or etherole, and that the commercial Hoffman’s anodyne differs in this respect, as well as in containing a much smaller proportion of oil of wine, from that of the Pharmacopœia. {213}

To get a better idea of the preparation in use here, authentic specimens were obtained from four of our largest manufacturing chemists, and compared with compound spirit of ether made for the occasion strictly according to the United States Pharmacopœia. Their density was carefully taken with the 1000 grs. bottle.

specific gravity
at 60° F.
A, Wetherill & Brothers,.8925
B, Smith, Pemberton & Co..8723
C, Rosengarten & Dennis,.8495
D, Powers & Weightman,.8394
E, U. S. Pharmacopœia.8151

Equal measures of each specimen and distilled water were mixed together; they all produced opaque milky liquids; globules of oil of wine soon separated from the mixture with E, and floated on the surface, while the liquid gradually lost its opacity as more of the oil arose. The mixture with D became less opaque by standing, a small portion of oil rising to the surface. The mixture with A, B and C retained their opacity without apparent separation of oil of wine, A being the most so.

A was the mildest and least repulsive to the taste, because least ethereal. C was the next least ethereal, but had pungency not arising from ether. B was more ethereal than the preceding, not­with­stand­ing its greater specific gravity. D was yet more charged with ether. E presented sensible properties differing from all the others, being more etherial and aromatic, but without a peculiar taste noticeable in the other specimens, more especially in C.

When 21⁄2 fluid drachms of each specimen was shaken in graduated tubes with 60 grains of carbonate of potassa, they were de-hydrated somewhat in the ratio of their specific gravities. A and B dissolved the salt readily by a few minutes’ agitation, and the separated aqueous alkaline solution equalled a third of the bulk of the mixture. In C and D only about half of the salt was dissolved, whilst in E the salt was merely rendered pasty.

To get an idea of the proportion of ether present in these {214} specimens, a solution of dry chloride of calcium in an equal weight of water, was made. Five parts of this solution was mixed with three parts of each of specimens of Hoffman’s anodyne, in tall tubular vials, corked, well agitated and allowed to stand for twelve hours. In A, B and C, no separation of ether occurred, but in each of them a few globules arose to the surface, consisting chiefly of light oil of wine. In D a stratum of ether holding oil of wine in solution, equal to one seventh of the bulk of the spirit used, or nearly half a part. Whilst in E the super-stratum of ether equalled one-third of the spirit used, and had a light yellow color, due to the oil of wine.

These data will give an approximative idea of their compositions; it would appear that A was chiefly alcohol and water, with but little ether; that B contained almost as much water as A, but less alcohol and more ether; that C contained much less water than A or B, but less ether and more alcohol than B, and more ether and less alcohol than A; that D contained rather more water than C, but more ether and less alcohol than either of the preceding; and lastly that E contains more ether, and less alcohol and water than either of the others.

In regard to the proportion of ethereal oil, the experiments give no positive clue. It would appear that B and D contained the most among the commercial specimens, and that D approaches nearest the composition of the officinal spirit, yet all of them when compared with the officinal are deficient in this ingredient.

It must be apparent from these results, that the opacity of a mixture of Hoffman’s anodyne and water, is no index of the proportion of oil of wine the former contains, that property being dependent apparently on the state of combination in which the oil exists, nor would we pronounce on the medicinal value of the specimens, a task belonging to the physician. Whatever curative reputation the compound spirit of ether may have earned, certainly belongs to the commercial spirit, and not to that of the Pharmacopœia, which is not to be had in the shops.

The exact nature of the liquid left after the rectification of {215} ether is an inquiry well worthy of further investigation. The alcohol of commerce is not a homogenous substance. Besides water, it contains odoriferous oily matter, produced in the original fermentation, and which is not wholly removed in the rectification of whiskey. This matter, modified by the action of sulphuric acid and heat, with the volatile substances generated during the ether process, are contained in it. It may also be that the ether in this residue is more intimately combined with water than in a mere mixture of water, alcohol, and ether of the same strength, as suggested to me by Mr. Pemberton.

The question very naturally arises, why do not the manufacturers prepare the officinal Hoffman’s anodyne, or why do they not furnish the ethereal oil of the Pharmacopœia, that the apothecary may make it himself by simple mixing? There are several reasons. 1st, the apothecary, the physician, and to a large extent the consumer, have become accustomed to the present commercial preparation, and the majority, both of apothecaries and physicians, would reject the true officinal spirit, if presented to them, as not correctly made; 2d, druggists, as a general rule, would refuse to pay the greatly increased price, absolutely required to remunerate the manufacturer, for the greater consumption of time and materials, and increased skill and risk in manipulation. Having, on several occasions, prepared the officinal oil of wine and Hoffman’s anodyne, I can corroborate the statements of Mr. Kent, at p. 255, relative to the small yield, and consequent costliness of officinal heavy oil of wine. The so-called oil of wine, which is imported into this city from England, and which is sometimes employed for making the officinal spirit, is an ethereal solution of etherole, one specimen yielding only seven per cent. of it. And 3d, in the preparation of ether, the residue left in the still after the rectification of the ether above 54° Beaumé, must either be thrown away, or converted to the only use to which it can be applied with advantage, viz., Hoffman’s anodyne. It is for this reason that the price of the commercial “anodyne” is so low, being about fifteen cents per pound. {216}

It may become a question in the next revision of the Pharmacopœia, whether it would not be better to reconstruct the formula for compound spirit of ether, somewhat on the plan of the manufacturers, or that quoted at page [213,] from Lewis’s Dispensatory, so as to render it more practicable and likely to be followed. Of course it should be done with due consideration of the difficulties involved in the production of a spirit of uniform strength.—American Journal of Pharmacy.

ON GUTTA TABAN. BY BERTHOLD SEEMANN.

The Taban (Isonandra Gutta, Hook.), which was formerly so plentiful [in Singapore], has long since been extinct. A few isolated trees may here and there occur, but they are very scarce, and I have not been able to obtain even the sight of one. Several of the white residents keep in their gardens as a curiosity, a plant or two, but they grow very slowly. It must ever be an object of regret, that on the first introduction of the Taban gum, its proper name was not promulgated. Now everybody in Europe and America speaks of Gutta Percha, when, in fact, all the time they mean the Gutta Taban. The substance termed by the Malays “Gutta Percha” is not the produce of the Isonandra Gutta, Hook., but that of a botanically unknown tree, a species of Ficus, I am told. The confusion of these two names has become a popular error—an error which science will have to rectify.

The exportation of the indigenous Gutta Taban from Singapore commenced in 1844, but as early as the end of 1847, all, {217} or at least most, of the trees had been exterminated. That at present shipped from the place, is brought in coasting vessels from the different ports of Borneo, Sumatra, the Malayan peninsula, and Jahore Archipelago.[17] The difference existing in its appearance and property is owing to the intermixture of Gutta Percha, Jelotong, Gegrek, Litchu, and other inferior Guttas, made by the natives in order to increase the weight.—Though far from being extinct in the Indian Archipelago, Gutta Taban will every year be more difficult to obtain, as the coast region is said to be pretty well cleared, and a long transport from the interior must, by augmenting the labor, increase the value of the article.

[17] “The total export of Gutta Taban from Singapore has been:—

In 1844     1 picul
In 1845   169 picul
In 1846 5,364 picul
In 1847 9,296 picul
In 1848 to the 1st of July 6,768 picul
Total21,598 piculs.

valued at 274,190 Spanish dollars. About 270,000 trees have probably been felled during the three and a half years that the trade has existed, and the value of each tree has thus on an average, been about a dollar.”—J. R. Logan, “On the Range of the Gutta Taban Collectors, and present Amount of Import into Singapore.” Mr. Logan has promised an article on the various substances intermixed with the Taban, a subject of the highest interest; but he has hitherto disappointed his readers.

A few months after the publication of your first account of the plant, in January, 1847, an article on the same subject appeared in the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, by one of its most able contributors, Dr. T. Oxley. As that article contains many statements not contained in yours, and as it may possibly have escaped your notice, I shall make a few extracts from it.

“The Gutta Taban tree belongs to the natural order Sapotaceæ, but differs so much from all described genera, that I am inclined to consider it a new one. I shall, therefore, endeavor to give its general character, leaving the honor of naming it to a more competent botanist, especially as, from want of {218} complete specimens, I have not quite satisfied myself regarding the stamens and fruit.

“The tree is from sixty to seventy feet high, from two to three feet in diameter. In its general aspect it resembles the Durian (Durio Zibethinus, Linn.), so much so as to strike the most superficial observer. The leaves are alternate, obovate-lanceolate, entire, coriaceous, their upper surface is of a pale green, and their under surface covered with a close, short, reddish-brown hair. The flowers are axillary, from one to three in the axils, supported on short curved pedicels, and numerous along the extremities of the branches. The calyx is inferior, persistent coriaceous, divided into six sepals, which are arranged in double series. The corolla is monopetalous, hypogenous, and divided, like the calyx, into six acuminate segments. The stamens, inserted into the throat of the corolla, are in a single series, and variable in number, but to the best of my observation, their normal number is twelve; they are most generally all fertile. The anthers are supported on slender bent filaments, and open by two lateral pores. The ovary is superior, terminated by a long single style, and six-celled; the cells are monospermous. The fruit is unknown to me.

“Only a short time ago the Taban tree was tolerably abundant on the Island of Singapore, but already, (middle of 1847) all the large timber has been felled. Its geographical range, however, appears to be considerable, it being found all up the Malayan peninsula, as far as Penang, where I have ascertained it to be plentiful. Its favorite localities are the alluvial tracts on the foot of hills, where it forms the principal portion of the jungle.

“The quantity of solid gutta obtained from each tree varies from five to twenty catties, so that, taking the average of ten catties, which is a tolerably liberal one, it will require the destruction of ten trees to produce one picul. Now, the quantity exported from Singapore to Europe, from the 1st of January, 1845, to the middle of 1847, amounted to 6,918 piculs, to obtain {219} which, 69,180 trees must have been sacrificed! How much better would it be to adopt the method of tapping the tree practised by the Burmese, in obtaining the caoutchouc, than to continue the present process of extermination.”[18]

[18] T. Oxley, in the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, vol. i, p. 22–30.

A mercantile house in Singapore lately received from Manilla a gum which was supposed by those who sent it to be Gutta Taban, but proved a different substance. It was accompanied by specimens of the tree producing it, and a note stating that the gum abounded in the Philippine Islands. As it will probably make its appearance in England, and perhaps become of some importance, I may add that those specimens presented to me by the merchant, belong to the genus Ficus; but whether to a new or an already described species, want of books prevented me from determining.—Hooker’s Jour. of Botany.

ON GAMBIR. BY BERTHOLD SEEMAN.

Black pepper (Piper Nigrum, Linn.) and Gambir (Uncaria Gambir, Roxb.) are grown in great quantities [in Singapore], and exclusively by the Chinese, for both these articles are so exceedingly cheap, that Europeans have not deemed it worth their while to engage in the speculation. Pepper and Gambir plantations are always combined, because the refuse of the gambir leaves serve as an excellent manure for the pepper; and moreover, what is of equal, if not greater importance, kills the Lalang, (Andropogon caricosus, Linn.), a plant which, like the couch-grass (Triticum repens, Linn.), spreads with astonishing rapidity over the fields, growing so close together and so high, that within a short spate of time valuable plantations {220} are rendered useless, and many have to be given up from the utter impossibility of freeing the ground from this weed.

The process by which gambir is extracted and prepared is simple. The leaves are boiled in water, until all their astringent property is extracted. The decoction is then poured into another vessel, in which it becomes inspissated, and, when nearly dry, is cut in small square pieces, and thus brought into the market. M’Culloch states that sago is used in thickening it. This, however, at least in Singapore, is not the case; but, instead of sago, a piece of wood is dipped into the vessel, by which the desired effect is produced. It must, indeed, be an extraordinary substance, the mere dipping of which into the fluid can cause it to become a thickened mass. I was very eager to obtain a piece of this wood; unluckily, the Chinaman whose laboratory I visited, could not be persuaded to part with his, and a friend of mine, who was exerting himself to procure a sample, had not succeeded at the time of the Herald’s departure: he promised, however, to send it to England, accompanied by the Malayan name, and specimens of the tree.—Hooker’s Journal of Botany.

ON THE GALBANUM PLANT. BY F. A. BUSHE.

The author states, that in his travels in Persia he discovered the plant which yields galbanum. In June, 1848, he found it on the declivities of the Demawend. It is a ferula, from the stalks of which a liquid issues abundantly, by the odor and nature of which he immediately recognised galbanum, and his guides assured him, moreover, that galbanum is gathered from this plant. The author has not yet distinctly determined {221} the plant. It appears to differ from Ferula erubescens (Annales des Sciences, iii., Sér. 1844, p. 316,) only by the absence of commissural vitæ; but as neither Aucher-Eloy, nor Kotschy, who have both collected the Ferula erubescens, make any mention of its yielding galbanum, the author is in doubt whether his plant be the same, or a variety of it. Don’s genus galbanum (Trib. Sibrinæ) and Lindley’s Opaïdia (Trib. Smyrneæ) do not agree with the plant seen by Bushe, unless that both of these authors have made their descriptions from imperfect fruits, or that there exist other plants which yield galbanum.—The plant which Bushe describes is called in some parts of Persia, Khassuch, (not Kasneh, which means Cichor intybus, nor Gäshnis, which is Coriand. sativum), and appears to be confined to certain districts of Persia. In the whole large district of the Elburs-chain, from the south-east angle to the south-west angle of the Caspian Sea, it is only found in the neighborhood of the Demawend; but here at an elevation of from 4000 to 8000 feet, and even on the declivity of the top of the Demawend. It exists neither on the mountains of Talysch, nor in the districts of Karadagh and Tabris. It is said to re-appear on the Mount Alwend, near Hamadan, and in the neighborhood of the great salt desert. Near Hamadan Aucher-Eloy has gathered his Ferula erubescene, and this supports the supposition that the author’s plant is the same. In the salt desert itself Bushe did not meet with it again. The inhabitants of the Demawend collect the gum resin, which issues spontaneously from the lower part of the stalk; they do not make incisions in the plant; but it is not at this place that the galbanum is collected for commercial purposes. When fresh, the gum resin is white like milk, liquid, and somewhat glutinous. In the air it soon becomes yellow, elastic, and finally solid. The odor is rather strong, unpleasant, and similar to that of our commercial galbanum.—Central Blatt, für 1852, No. xiii.

{222}