April 5, 1873 ] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
785 
ceases according as this coating preserves its integrity 
or is broken. The extinction of the mercury •would 
then be the result of a purely mechanical force and 
not in any way of chemical action. The small quan¬ 
tity of oxide of mercury said to be found in mercurial 
ointment obtained by long rubbing and prolonged 
exposure to the air proves nothing contrary to this 
opinion. 
The aptitude which lard acquires by liquefaction 
for the extinction of mercury, and the revivification 
of the metal in the mass as it cools, explain why the 
Paris Codex prescribes that the lard shall be half 
melted during the preparation of mercurial ointment. 
But the operation so conducted is very slow, and 
only accomplished after long manipulation, which 
predisposes the ointment to rancidity and weakens 
its consistence, and for this reason apparently the 
Codex orders the addition of a large proportion of 
wax. 
Led by these considerations, the author has for 
some time been in the habit of adding a small quan¬ 
tity of oil of sweet almonds, the use of which in the 
following manner gives satisfactory results:— 
Mercury.] 000 grams 
Oil of. Sweet Almonds . 20 „ 
Lard. 980 „ 
Mix intimately the mercury with the oil in a mortar’ 
or preferably in a wide shallow vessel, by means of a 
large-headed wooden pestle. After twelve or fifteen 
minutes the mercurv is reduced to a kind of homo- 
geneous paste, in which scarcely any globules are 
perceptible to the naked eye. Mix this paste with 
200 grams of melted lard until the mercury has com¬ 
pletely disappeared,—less than an hour will usually 
obtain this result,—and then incorporate the rest of 
the lard cold by a few minutes’ rubbing. Not more 
than 200 grams of lard should be added first, as a 
greater quantity retards a successful result. 
Since the adoption in the Codex of benzoated 
lard for the preparation of mercurial ointment, the 
author has modified this process in the following 
manner:— 
Mercury. 1000 grams 
Oil of Sweet Almonds . 20 „ 
Balsam of Peru. ... 20 „ 
Lard. 960 „ 
The mercury disappears with surprising rapidity in 
the mixture of oil of sweet almonds and balsam of 
Peru; when a homogeneous paste has been formed, 
the process should be continued as before. 
This method M. Lahens considers preferable to 
the former. The mercurial ointment so produced he 
states to be smooth, beautifully bright and of a good 
colour, having an agreeable odour and easily pre¬ 
served. The consistence also is good if lard of good 
quality be used. 
THE PREPARATION OF PURE OLEIC ACID. 
Some difficulty having been met with in obtaining com¬ 
mercial oleic acid uncontaminated by oxyoleic and stearic 
acids, the presence of which is detrimental to the prepa¬ 
ration of oleates of mercury and morphia, a correspondent 
of the American Journal of Pharmacy publishes the fol¬ 
lowing method of producing a pure oleic acid, from which 
oleates have been prepared that have not in any instance 
recipitated, and that are unobjectionable in colour and 
ppearance. 
. An y gi y en quantity of almond oil* is taken and sapo¬ 
nified by means of potash, care being taken to insure the 
entire saponification of the oil, which may be easily tested 
by means of strong alcohol. The soap is then decomposed 
by means of tartaric acid, carefully washed to free it from 
bitartrate of potash, etc. ; then placed on a water-bath, 
and heated for sevei'al hours with half its weight of finely- 
powdered oxide of lead ; the resulting combination, after 
cooling, is mixed with about three times its volume of 
ether, and allowed to settle ; the clear ethereal solution 
is decanted and the residue treated by a fresh portion of 
ether, and decanted as before. The mixed ethereal solu¬ 
tions are then. briskly agitated with an excess of dilute 
hydrochloric acid, to eliminate the oleic acid, which rises 
dissolved in the ether to the surface of the water. The 
solution is next washed with water and distilled to recover 
the ether, which may be used for a subsequent operation. 
( The portion remaining in the still consists of oleic acid 
^36 JT 33 0 3 , HO contaminated with a certain quantity of 
oxyoleic acid C 36 H 32 0 4 H0-f-HO. In order to free it 
from the latter, the mixture is saturated with solution of 
ammonia, and the resulting compound, decomposed by 
means of chloride of barium, which throws down a preci¬ 
pitate of oleate and oxyoleate of baryta. The precipitate 
is then dried and treated with boiling alcohol, which de¬ 
posits, on cooling, crystals of oleate of baryta, without any 
trace of oxyoleate. The oleate is then decomposed by a 
solution of tartaric acid in boiled distilled water, which 
sets free the pure oleic acid. Care must be taken in 
washing this acid for the last time, and also in decompos¬ 
ing the oleate of baryta, to avoid contact with the atmo¬ 
sphere. 
When thus prepared, oleic acid is nearly colourless and 
slightly thinner than almond oil; it dissolves readily the 
binoxides both of mercury and morphia, forming with them 
solutions varying from almost white (5 per cent.) to the 
colour of linseed oil (10 and 20 per cent.) without giving 
rise to precipitates. 
In preparing the oleates, the mixture should never be 
heated to more than 150° F., and the solution should be 
made in a closed vessel, in which the atmospheric air has 
been deprived of its oxygen or replaced by pure hydrogen ; 
proper precautions being taken to allow for the expansion 
of the gas before entirely closing the apparatus. 
COD-LIVER OIL AND LACT0-PH0SPHATE OF LIME 
BY EDWABD CHILES. 
* 
This remedy is being quite extensively prescribed by 
physicians ; and as considerable inquiry has been made as 
to an eligible mode of prescribing it, I will give my expe¬ 
rience in the manufacture of the article. 
For a long time I have had demand for a tasteless cod- 
liver oil, and have been in the habit of preparing it in the 
form of an emulsion with gum arabic and water, and 
covering the odour with a few drops of essential oil of 
bitter almonds. 
Over a year ago I found physicians were prescribing 
cod-liver oil and lacto-phosphate of lime, and I devised a 
formula for it, based on my experience with the simple 
emulsion and the syrup of lacto-phosphate of lime, for 
which a considerable demand had sprung up. The for¬ 
mula I then devised has been followed by me up to the 
present time, and has invariably given satisfaction, and 
produces an article which does not separate or become 
rancid. 
I think, however, it should be prepared extemporane¬ 
ously as prescribed by physicians, and I have not kept it 
on hand, but prepare it as wanted, thus always giving a 
perfectly sweet article. 
* Preference is given to this oil on account of its lesser 
liability to sophistication. 
f From the American Journal of Pharmacy. 
