84S 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 22, 1871 
instead of paper only ; but I would call the attention of 
the authors and revisers of both the Pharmacopoeia and 
Dispensatory to the lack of explicit directions in many 
of the formulae for syrups, from which I, with many 
others, have suffered loss and trouble. The difficulty is 
mainly in the want of full and accurate directions in re¬ 
gard to the various measurements. For example, the 
closing directions in the formula for compound syrup of 
squill read thus:—“Add sufficient boiling water through 
the strainer to make it (the hot syrup) measure three 
pints” (while hot?). In view of the tartar emetic, the 
design of the formula must be to make the syrup measure 
three pints when cold, but a fair interpretation of the 
directions cannot mean that. Now it is plain that three 
pints of hot syrup will not, upon cooling, be three pints 
of cold syrup, admitting that no evaporation takes place 
in the act; but most commonly a considerable evapora¬ 
tion will take place during the process, and of necessity 
a crystallization of sugar takes place. The fault is even 
worse in the formula for syrup of seneka. The directions 
read: “ Filter, and having added the sugar, dissolve it 
with the aid of a gentle heat and strain the solution 
while hot.” No account is taken of the loss of liquid in 
filtering, nor of evaporation in dissolving the sugar. If 
the directions are followed precisely in such cases, crys¬ 
tallization will inevitably take place, even if the amount 
of sugar prescribed is not a little too great, as I am of 
opinion it is in the two first of the syrups herein dis¬ 
cussed. I believe that in practice twenty-nine troy 
ounces would be found to answer as well as thirty troy 
ounces, or a proportional reduction of other quantities. 
It should be remarked that, in filtering through car¬ 
bonate of magnesia, the first portions of liquid often pass 
through cloudy , and should be returned to the filter until 
the filtrate is quite clear. This will ensure a transparent 
syrup.— Amer. Journ. I’ll arm. 
THE EXTEMPORANEOUS BENZOATING OF 
OINTMENTS. 
BY CllAltLES F. BOLTON - . 
The subject of benzoin in ointments has for some time 
past attracted the attention of the profession, and there 
is nothing in the whole range of pharmacy that gives 
more satisfaction than a perfect ointment, not only to the 
druggist who dispenses it, but also to the physician who 
prescribes, and the patient who uses it. There is nothing 
that reflects more credit on the pharmacist than an ele¬ 
gant and well-dispensed ointment. To accomplish this 
requires not only experienced manipulation, but some¬ 
thing more; it needs that the unctuous matter should be 
fresh and free from the least trace of rancidity ; it should 
not only be this way when dispensed, belt, if possible, 
should be made in such a manner that it would remain in 
a perfectly sweet condition for a considerable length of 
time, thus affording the patient an opportunity of using 
the whole of the ointment in a sweet state. This can be 
effected in many instances by using the officinal unguen- 
tum benzoini as the base of the ointment, but often the 
physician directs the ointment to bo prepared and ben¬ 
zoated extemporaneously. To benzoate the ointment by 
the officinal process involves time, but by the plan that I 
suggest it can be accomplished in a very short time with¬ 
out the aid of heat, thus saving a great deal of time and 
trouble. In many instances time is quite an important 
object. The formula that I have decided upon, after 
making several experiments, is as follows :— 
R. Benzoin. Pulv. (select.) ^ij. 
Ether. Sulphuric. §iv 
01. Ricini ~j. 
Introduce the benzoin into an 8-ounce bottle, add the 
ether, macerate for twenty-four hours with frequent agi¬ 
tation, pass through a filter, to the filtrate add ol. ricini, 
and shake until dissolved; then transfer to a shallow 
vessel, in order to allow the ether to evaporate spontane¬ 
ously ; lastly, when the ether has entirely disappeared, 
place in a wide-mouthed bottle ready for use. With a 
view to economy I experimented with alcohol and ben¬ 
zine as solvents; the former of the specific gravity ‘817 
gave moderate satisfaction, the result being of a much, 
darker colour, owing to the foreign matter in the benzoin 
being more soluble in alcohol than in ether ; this I con¬ 
sidered a serious objection, as it discoloured the ointment 
considerably, while that made with the ether did not, at 
least not more than if it were benzoated by the officinal 
process. The benzine experiment, however, was a com¬ 
plete failure, it extracting from the benzoin only a very 
small amount of benzoic acid, leaving entirely undissolved 
the resin, cinnamic acid and volatile oil. The result from 
the formula that I have given is of the consistency of a 
soft extract, one ounce of the extract fully representing 
an ounce of the benzoin in a state that is perfectly mis¬ 
cible with unctuous substances. I benzoated several 
ointments with this extract in the early part of last 
April, and allowed them the greater portion of the tirue- 
to be exposed to the atmosphere, and when I examined 
them in the fall I could find none of them oxidized in 
the least, and in the case of ung. hydr. oxidi rubri the- 
bright orange colour was perfectly preserved. I also 
used it in several prescriptions, and it always gave per¬ 
fect satisfaction. I used it in the proportion of half 
drachm to the ounce of ointment: it can also be used 
very advantageously in preparations for the hair, it 
being very soluble in alcohol and perfectly miscible with 
ol. ricini in combination with alcohol, but insoluble in 
the fixed and volatile oils in a free state. It is also freely 
soluble in chloroform.— American Journal of Pharmacy*. 
SYRUP OF IODIDE OF POTASSIUM AND IRON 
(OF LAHACHE). 
Take of 
Iodide of potassium. 308 grains. 
Iodido of iron (in solution 1 to 3) 230 ,, 
Orange-flower ■water .... 462 ,, 
Simple syrup (concentrated) . . 33 ’- fluid ounces. 
Dissolve the iodide of potassium in the orange-flower 
water, add the other solution and incorporate the syrup. 
Preserve it cool and free from light.— Union Tharma- 
ccutiqac. 
The Candle-berry Tree (. Aleurites triloba) is well 
known in the Moluccas and the Pacific Islands on ac¬ 
count of its valuable oil-seeds, which are strung on 
sticks and used as candles; the oil is also expressed and 
used for culinary purposes, and has been imported in: 
small quantities into this country. In China another 
species of Aleurites ( A . cor cl at a), known as the Tungshu- 
tree, yields such an abundance of oil that it is said to be 
one of the largest products of the province of Szectmen.. 
In point of quality it is inferior to that of the camellia, 
but it is very extensively used for lighting purposes. 
The natives call it tung oil.— Gardeners Chronicle. 
Galuncha.—Amongst East Indian medicinal plants 
the Galuncha (T'mospora cordifolia, Miers) has been con¬ 
sidered of sufficient value to be placed in the new Indian 
Pharmacopoeia. The roots and stems are the parts used,, 
and their properties are tonic, antiperiodic and diuretic. . 
They are used in cases of general debility after fevers, 
in rheumatic affections, etc., and are administered either 
in the form of tincture, infusion or extract. It is called 
Penawar Sampei (all-sufficient medicine) in Borneo, and 
is in daily use amongst the natives as well as by many 
Europeans. The plant is very tenacious of life, a por¬ 
tion of a stem hung up in a dry room for more than 
twelve months, without touching earth or water, having 
been known to throw out roots during the whole time.—- 
Gardeners Citron icle. 
