BENZOATE OF SODA

or Sodium Benzoate, a salt made by adding benzoic acid to a hot solution of carbonate of sodium—the sodium benzoate appears on cooling in the form of crystals. Commercially, it is a white powder, slightly sweet and astringent. It is used to a considerable extent as a food preservative. Commercial benzoic acid 1s manufactured chiefly from coal*tar and by synthesis, also to a certain extent from resins, especially from Totu (which see) and benzoin, exuded from the bark of an East-Indian tree. It is found naturally in cranberries and some other fruits. BERGAMOT (herb), a title applied to several different plants used as herbs for their stimulating and aromatic properties, as ‘‘bergamot mint’? (Jfentha citrata) and ‘‘wild bergamot’’ (Monarda fistulosa), one of the ‘‘horse-mints.”’