Carbonate of magnesia, prices, wholesale, New York, per pound, in barrels. Calcined, per pound. Sulphate of, or Epsom salts, per pound. 640 Magnesite, or native mineral carbonate of magnesia. Sulphate of, or Epsom salts, per pound. Magnesia, sulphate of, or Epsom salts. Magnesite, or native mineral carbonate of magnesia. Calcined, medicinal, per pound.. Sulphate of, or Epsom salts, per pound. Magnesite, crude or calcined, not purified.. Magnesia and carbonate of, medicinal, per pound Calcined, medicinal, per pound... Sulphate of, or Epsom salts, per pound. Magnesite, crude or calcined, not purified. Carbonate of, precipitated, per pound.. 1913 539 Magnesite, crude or calcined, not purified.. COURT AND TREASURY DECISIONS. 5 cents. 4 cents. Three-tenths cent 3 cents. 7 cents. Do. 3 cents. 7 cents. One-fifth cent. Free. 3 cents. 7 cents. One-fifth cent. Free. 3 cents. 13 cents. One-tenth cent Henry's calcined magnesia, classified as a medicinal proprietary preparation under the act of 1890, was held dutiable as calcined magnesia under paragraph 34. The fact that the article was labeled with the maker's name was declared not to change its character.G. A. 2030 (T. D. 13877). Calcined magnesia, likewise labeled, had been held dutiable as a medicinal preparation and not as calcined magnesia under the Revised Statutes. Schedule M, section 2504; Ferguson v. Arthur, 117 U. S., 482. Calcined magnesia of the purity required by the United States Pharmacopoeia, 96 per cent of magnesium oxide, and packed in pack ages of less than 2 pounds gross weight, was held to come within paragraph 17 of the act of 1913, fixing a minimum duty on chemical and medicinal compounds so packed.-Abstract 41784. Calcined magnesite, ground but not purified, was held exempt from duty under paragraph 605 of the act of 1897. Specific enumeration precluded classification by use as a cement.-G. A. 5003 (T. D. 23316). Being a cement excluded the article from the provision in paragraph 543 of the act of 1894 for "magnesite or native mineral carbonate of magnesia."-G. A. 3370 (T. D. 16851). A like decision was made under the act of 1883 where the competing provisions were cement and crude minerals advanced in value.-Appeal, T. D. 9375. Magnesium carbonate light, classified under paragraph 31 of the act of 1897 as carbonate of magnesium, calcined and medicinal, was found to be "carbonate of magnesium technically but not medicinally," and dutiable under paragraph 3 as a chemical compound.-Abstract 15472 (T. D. 28181). Sulphate of magnesia, or Epsom salts, which in the act of 1894 appeared both in the dutiable (par. 24) and the free list (par. 542), was held to come within the latter as the later expression of legislative intent, and, furthermore, because doubt arising from the ambiguity had to be resolved in favor of the importer. United States v. Merck, 91 Fed., 639, affirmed by the Circuit Court of Appeals without opinion, T. D. 21902 and 23158; G. A. 3285 (T. D. 16640); and followed in G. A. 4526 (T. D. 21503). A mechanical mixture of sodium sulphate, sulphate of magnesia, sodium chloride, and mud, was held exempt from duty as a mineral salt obtained by evaporation from mineral waters under paragraph 548 of the act of 1913, and not dutiable under paragraph 42 as sulphate of magnesia. Two of the three members of the Board of Gen eral Appraisers declared that in the face of the general congressional intent to admit free of duty all mineral salts obtained in the way set forth in paragraph 548, they could not consider whether or not any particular mineral salt so obtained is more specifically provided for in some other paragraph of the act.-G. A. 8042 (T. D. 37076). MENTHOL. SUMMARY. Menthol is an important medicinal obtained from peppermint oil. It is used chiefly in solution or as a salve (when mixed with petrolatum or other greases), in cough drops, and in various throat and nasal sprays. The United States is one of the largest producers of peppermint oil, but in normal times little if any domestic oil is used for menthol manufacture, since it is in considerable demand for flavoring purposes. Japanese peppermint oil, on the other hand, has a bitter taste and is generally considered inferior for all purposes other than menthol manufacture. For this reason practically all of the menthol consumed in the United States is imported from Japan, and it is only at times of extremely low oil prices that menthol is separated from domestic oil of peppermint. Exports of menthol from Japan for the period 1913-1919 averaged 362,519 pounds per year. Most of the exports go to the United States and the United Kingdom. Imports of menthol prior to 1913 averaged about 40,000 pounds, valued at approximately $100,000. The duty of 25 per cent ad valorem (under one of the general provisions) yielded an average annual revenue of about $40,000. In the act of 1913 menthol was taken from the general provision and a specific duty of 50 cents per pound was provided. This duty in 1914 was equivalent to 16.6 per cent ad valorem, and following this reduction in duty there was a considerable increase in imports. For the period 1914-1919 imports averaged 162,184 pounds, valued at $474,433, and yielded an average annual revenue of $82,650. Menthol is a very speculative commodity and an exception among pharmaceuticals in that prices dropped during the war period and then increased rapidly at a time when most drugs were falling. The demand for menthol preparations during the influenza epidemic seriously affected the market in 1918 and 1919, but during the first half of 1920 conditions were gradually returning to the normal. GENERAL INFORMATION. Tariff act of 1913.-Paragraph 43, "Menthol, 50 cents per pound." DESCRIPTION AND USES. Menthol is a white crystalline substance obtained from oil of peppermint and from other mint oils. The pure product is described by the Pharmacopoeia as "colorless crystals having the strong odor and taste of peppermint." Chemically, menthol is a secondary alcohol (C10H1OH) and is the chief member of the so-called menthol series of camphor. Other members of this series are discussed in tariff information surveys for camphor and thymol. 19 35284-21-A-10—5 Menthol is used almost exclusively in medicine. It is an antiseptic and local anesthetic, valuable in neuralgia and irritations of the skin. Large quantities are also used in cough drops, sprays, and inhaling tubes. In other forms it is used for the treatment of throat affections. As an external application it is used in alcoholic solution or as a salve (when mixed with petrolatum or other greases). Official preparations of menthol are menthol inunction, compound menthol inunction, antiseptic solution with pepsin, camphorated menthol, aromatic oil spray, menthol spray, compound menthol spray, menthol petroxylin, and antiseptic powder. The high price of menthol has led to many attempts at more or less fraudulent substitution. Preparations marketed as menthol, menthol substitutes, or with names suggestive of menthol have frequently consisted of acetanilid containing only enough menthol to impart the characteristic odor. Other preparations of this sort have been found to contain large amounts of spermaceti. PRODUCTION AND TRADE. Most of the menthol used in the United States is imported from Japan, notwithstanding the fact that the United States produces approximately one-half the world supply of peppermint. Japanese peppermint oil has a sharp, bitter taste, which renders it inferior for flavoring purposes. It usually contains, however, a larger proportion of free menthol than does the American and European oils, and it is therefore the chief source of the world supply of this important medicinal. Menthol is occasionally manufactured from American peppermint oil, usually at times when prices for the domestic oil are comparatively low. In general, the demands for flavoring purposes absorb the American crop at a higher price than Japanese peppermint oil can command. Production statistics for the domestic industry are not available, but it is believed that over 90 per cent of the domestic consumption is of imported menthol. Japanese production. The Japanese varieties of peppermint are distinct from those cultivated in Europe and America. Four varieties are cultivated in Japan, one of which-the Akamaru-predominates. This variety is declared to be superior in oil yield but inferior in vigor of growth. Two crops of herbs are harvested in July and October, and in the southern part of Japan three crops may be obtained. The herb is dried carefully and distilled by the farmers and also by buyers. The small still used by farmers is a simple. affair; in 1908 a favorite type cost $7.50. Menthol is separated from the crude distillate by refrigeration. By the majority of small operators this is done by exposure to the natural winter cold; the menthol crystallizes, rises to the top, and is skimmed off. Large operators utilize a simple process of artificial refrigeration by means of ice and salt. Before shipment the menthol is usually purified by recrystallization. Peppermint oil usually contains about 50 to 60 per cent of free menthol, but only 40 to 50 per cent is commercially recovered. |