Hay IT, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
901 
THE PHARMACY OF THE UNITED STATES’ 
PHARMACOPOEIA. 
BY WILLIAM MARTINDALE, JF.C.S., 
Dispenser, and Teacher of Pharmacy to the University 
College Hospital. 
(Continued from page 863.) 
Aceta. —First in the list comes Acetum Destillatum. 
It is directed to "be made by taking eight pints of 
vinegar, and distilling until seven are obtained. It 
is not stated in the materia medica list from what 
source the crude vinegar should be prepared, but that 
used in the United States is generally made from 
cider. The distillate contains about 4*5 per cent, of 
monohydrated acetic acid, and is of the same strength 
as acidum aceticum dilutum , for which also, as I have 
previously stated, it may be substituted in preparing 
the official vinegars. It seems unfortunate that this 
should be allowed, because if dilute acetic acid pos¬ 
sess any solvent and preserving action in making 
these preparations, over and above that of pure water, 
it possesses it alone and without the impurities which 
are contained along with it in distilled vinegar, such 
as alcohol, aldeliyd, acetone, and acetic ether. These 
.impurities may tend to complicate or obscure the 
action of that class of preparations when given for 
certain diseases. The additional cost, however, will, 
I suppose, commercially preclude the use of such a 
.substitute almost entirely. 
Acetum Opii , for which the synonym of “ Black 
drop” is given, is prepared by macerating and perco¬ 
lating opium and nutmeg, both in moderately coarse 
powder, in diluted acetic acid, and adding a certain 
proportion of sugar. It contains about one grain of 
dried opium in six minims. How far it resembles its 
prototype will be difficult now to ascertain. The 
other aceta —those of lobelia, blooclroot, and squills are 
uniform both in strength (1 in 8) and in the processes 
of their preparation ; they may be made by either 
process, percolation pure and simple, or maceration 
and expression. No addition of spirit is made to any 
of them. 
Acida. —Of these, acidum sulphuricum aromaticum 
contains about one-third more acid than B. P., but 
less aromatics. The strong acid is mixed gradually 
with half the alcohol ordered, and allowed to cool. A 
tincture is made by percolation of the aromatics with 
the other portion of alcohol, and mixed with the 
acidulated spirit. This process will tend to the forma¬ 
tion of much ethyl-sulphuric acid in the product 
even at first, which is probably an advantage, as I 
find that on keeping a little while the B. P. prepara¬ 
tion contains it also. 
Aloe.—Aloe purificata. This is made by melting 
socotrine aloes in a water bath, adding one-sixth of 
stronger alcohol, and straining through a fine sieve, 
which has just been dipped in boiling water; the 
strained mixture is then evaporated until it becomes 
solid on cooling. Socotrine aloes only is so treated, 
the object being to separate the mechanical impuri¬ 
ties, but mere powdering and sifting will, I think, 
answer that purpose quite as well; the continued 
application of heat must be injurious to the product. 
I may here state that there are no extracts of aloes 
corresponding to the B. P. preparations. 
Aquce. —The aromatic waters— aqua anisi, aqua 
cinnamomi, aqua foeniculi , aqua menthce piperita, 
and aqua menthce viridis —are directed to be made 
by distilling the fruits, barks, or fresh herbs of these 
Third Series, No. 151. 
respectively with water, or by the alternative process 
of triturating their oils with carbonate of magnesia, 
adding distilled water gradually and filtering through 
paper. Aqua amygdalae amarce is made by the latter 
process only. Orange-flower and rose waters are 
ordered to be distilled from the fresh flowers or 
petals, or in the case of rose water, the petals may 
be used pickled with salt. In the formula for aqua 
camphorce, 120 grains of camphor are ordered to be 
rubbed, first with 40 minims of alcohol, then with 
half a troyounce of carbonate of magnesia, and lastly, 
with two pints of distilled water added gradually, 
and filtered through paper. Dr. Wood states* that 
camphor water thus made contains three grains of 
camphor in the fluid ounce; if so, it is an active 
preparation, and very different from that in the 
British Pharmacopoeia, which does not contain above 
half a grain in the fluid ounce. With us, camphor 
water is generally used as a mere placebo; the 
United States’ preparation would form a dangerous 
one. Aqua acidi carbolici is made by mixing ten 
fluiclrachms of glycerite of carbolic acid with suffi¬ 
cient distilled water to make a pint. It will thus 
contain one part of carbolic acid in about sixty- 
four parts fluid. This will make but a weak lotion, 
if it be intended to be used as such, and as carbolic 
acid is soluble in about one-fourth the quantity of 
water, the utility of the glycerine in the preparation, 
or of the preparation itself even, is doubtful. A for¬ 
mula for hydrated carbolic acid, directing one part of 
water to be added to sixteen parts of the crystal, only 
liquefied by means of heat, would be a much more 
useful preparation than either the glycerite or the 
water of carbolic acid. Pharmacists will rarely keep 
the latter preparations made, and as they require their 
strength to be adjusted by the prescriber to suit the 
case he requires them for, pharmacopoeial formulae for 
them appear to be unnecessary. A qua creasoti is pre¬ 
pared ley agitating one fluidrachm of creasote with 
sixteen fluidounces of distilled water, and filtering 
through paper. Genuine English creasote is not soluble 
in four times this quantity of water, nor is it dissolved 
“ wholly and readily in an equal volume of acetic acid,” 
as is stated at p. 28. In the preparation of distilled 
water we are told to “ take of water eighty pints. Distil 
two pints, using a tin or glass condenser, and throve 
them away;\ then distil sixty-four pints, and keep 
them in well-stopped glass bottles.” We have also 
a process given for making aqua ammonia, sp. gr. 
0*960, direct from chloride of ammonium and lime, 
but none for aqua ammonice fortior, sp. gr. 0*900, this 
is found described in the materia medica list only. 
Why is not the other made from it by mere dilution ? 
Testa preeparata —prepared oyster shell. Under 
the head of Calcium preparations we find this has a 
place. Crabs’ eyes have departed from the realms of 
pharmacy, but oyster shells still find favour on the 
other side of the Atlantic, it appears. 
Cerata.— For these we have ten formulae. The 
cerates are still with them a class of preparations 
firmer in consistency than ointments, and all contain 
wax as an almost necessary ingredient. Ceratum — 
simple cerate, is composed oi eight parts of lard and 
four of white wax. Unguentum —simple ointment, 
has two parts of white wax to the same quantity of 
lard. 
* Wood and Bache’s ‘United States’ Dispensatory,’ 12th 
Edition, p. 1001. 
f These italics are mine. 
