1006 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[June 17,1871. 
G*5408 gnus, sulphate lead, equal to 2G*71 per cent, 
of oxide of lead. 
6. Several experiments were made with the pro¬ 
cess recommended in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, with 
commercial litharge as well as with chemically pure 
oxide of lead, and, for comparison with these, others 
by using the cold process recommended by M. 
Neming.* 
I. Hot process. —The required specific gravity of 
the product is P267. 
A. I boiled for half an hour 16 grins, of acetate of 
lead with 9’5 grms. of litharge and 64 gnus, of dis¬ 
tilled water. The product was a clear liquid of 
1*265 specific gravity. 9*5588 grms. gave 2*9403 
grms. of sulphate of lead, or 22*64 per cent, of oxide 
of lead. 
B. The same proportions of ingredients were used, 
but c. p. oxide of lead in the place of litharge. The 
specific gravity of the product was 1*234. 14*2815 
grms. gave 3*7053 grms. of sulphate of lead, equal to 
19*09 per cent, of oxide of lead. 
C. A repetition of the last experiment with a 
sample of acetate of lead from another source, gave 
a liquid of 1*230 specific gravity, 11*4528 grms. of 
which gave 2*9068 grms. sulphate of lead, equal to 
18*68 per cent, of oxide of lead. 
II. Cold process. —The same proportions of the re¬ 
quisite substances were allowed to remain, with 
frequent agitation, in contact for twenty-four hours, 
and in experiment a, made with litharge, gave a 
liquid of 1*243 specific gravity, of which 19*3736 
grms. gave 5*2476 grms. sulphate of lead, which is 
equal to 19*93 per cent, of oxide of lead. 
B. repeated with c. p. oxide of lead, I obtained a 
liquid of 1*242 specific gravity, of which 15*2463 
grms. gave 4*1196 gnus, of sulphate of lead, or 19*88 
per cent, of oxide of lead. 
C. A third experiment, which was made with 
acetate of lead from another source, yielded a liquid 
of 1*220 specific gravity. 13*14 grms. of the same 
gave 3*23 grms. of sulphate of lead, which repre¬ 
sents 18*09 per cent, of oxide of lead. 
From these experiments it will be seen that the 
liquores plurnbi subacetatis obtained by the different 
Pharmacopoeias yield very different products, but 
also that the same process gave products of not ex¬ 
actly the same composition; and as always the same 
care has been used in each case, I cannot account 
for differences of nearly 2 per cent, in the amount of 
oxide of lead (as has been found between No. 6, 
II A. and C.), otherwise than that the very low tem¬ 
perature at the time of the preparation of C. is the 
cause of this and other discrepancies. 
As a general observation I will add, that the pre¬ 
parations made in the cold appear to keep better 
than those obtained by boiling, the latter more readily 
depositing basic salts.— Amer. Journ. Pharmacy. 
NOTES ON BIRD OILS, 
BY P. L. SIMMONDS. 
Among the animal oils or fats, that of birds has 
been the least investigated, probably because it is 
so seldom met with in commerce, and yet there are 
some quarters where various kinds have economic 
and medicinal uses. Goose grease is perhaps the 
only one wliich with us has a domestic reputation as 
an emollient for chapped hands, etc. As Mr. Stanford 
* Phaem. Jourx. July 9th, 1870, from Journ, de Phar- 
made et de Chimie, 
has recently drawn attention to the fulmar oil in the 
Journal, a few notes as to the uses and commerce in 
other oils or fats from birds may probably lead to 
further investigations and a careful examination of 
any useful properties they may possess. 
The Penguin ( Diomedia chilensis ) in the Falkland 
Islands is chiefly sought after for its oil, deriving its 
name from its pinguidity or excessive fatness. On 
the islands of the Falkland group these birds are 
found in millions, and schooners, with a gang of 
twelve or fifteen men, go there solely for boiling 
down the oil of the birds. The fat of eleven birds 
slammed gives about one gallon of oil, and each 
schooner or gang of men will return to Stanley, after 
a month or six weeks’ campaign, with from 25,000 to 
30,000 gallons of oil. This oil, which comes chiefly to 
London, is used, I believe, for currying leather only. 
I have sent Mr. Stanford and the museum of the 
Society specimens of this oil. It varies in colour 
according to the time it has been boiled. 
Another bird oil largely sought for in the islands 
of Bass’s Straits and New Zealand, is from what 
is called locally the mutton bird (Pro cell aria oh- 
scura). Large quantities of oil are obtained from 
the young birds. The body is pressed and the oil 
runs from the mouth, each bird yielding about half 
a gill. The oil is reputed to possess considerable 
virtue as a liniment in cases of rheumatism. The 
fat, when clean, is pure white and looks like goose 
fat, but the taste is rather oily; however, it may be 
used for a good many purposes other than for food. 
It burns very well in small, shallow tin lamps, which 
get warmed by the light and melt the fat. 
Father Labat (Nouv. Voy. tome vi. p. 395) speaks 
of the virtues of the grease or fat of the frigate bird. 
It is said to be an admirable specific in the sciatica, 
and in numbness of the limbs and other ailments 
arising from a want of circulation. The grease is to 
be heated, and while it is on the fire, the parts 
affected are to be well rubbed and chafed in order to 
open the pores, and some good brandy or spirits of 
wine are to be mixed with the fat immediately before 
it is applied. A piece of blotting-paper steeped in 
this mixture may be laid on the part, with com¬ 
presses and a bandage to keep it in its place. 
Mother Carey’s chickens ( Procellaria pel-ayica) 
are killed in quantities at the Western Islands for 
then* oil. They are so plump that the islanders 
merely draw a candle-wick through the body, and it 
becomes so saturated with the liquid fat as to form 
a lamp without further process. 
Ostrich fat has much local repute. The first care 
of the sportsman after securing his bird, is to re¬ 
move the skin, so as to preserve the feathers unin¬ 
jured ; the next is to melt down the fat and pour it 
into bags formed out of the skin of the thigh and leg, 
strongly tied at the lower end. The grease of an 
ostrich in good condition fills both its legs, and as it 
brings three times the price of common butter, it is 
considered no despicable part of the game. It is 
not only eaten with bread and used in the prepara¬ 
tion of kooskoos and other articles of food, but the 
Arabs reckon it a valuable remedy in various mala¬ 
dies. In rheumatic attacks, for instance, they rub 
it on the part affected till it penetrates tliorouglily; 
then lay the patient in the burning sand, with his 
head carefully protected. A profuse perspiration 
comes on, and the cure is complete. In bilious dis¬ 
orders, the grease is slightly warmed, mixed with 
salt and administered as a potion. It acts thus as 
