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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[January 20, 1872. 
*** No notice can be taken of anonymous communica- 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily 
for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith. 
Early Closing. 
Sir,—I wish to acid my mite to the discussion in reference 
to early closing, and to recommend a course that differs from 
all that I have seen advocated. 
I have not written to the Journal before upon this matter, 
and do net intend to do so again, because I do not see the 
utility of perpetually complaining to each other. We ought 
to appeal to the public, who are the offenders, and then some 
good may be done. 
I would recommend either that a society be formed amongst 
us for the purpose, or else that the Council of the Pharma¬ 
ceutical Society be requested to prepare a manifesto to the 
public, pointing out the desirability of shortening our hours 
of work, not only in our own interest, but in theirs; nay, I 
would even make theirs the most prominent. Let it be judi¬ 
ciously shown that it is not so safe for them to apply 
for anything late in the evening when we are wearied and 
when our shops are imperfectly lighted, as it is in proper 
business hours; let us also tell them that it is imperatively 
necessary that our apprentices and assistants and ourselves 
have time for study out of business hours. And as to Sunday 
customers, whether with prescriptions to prepare or for penny 
articles, let us tell them that we are quite sure that not one- 
tenth of what we have to do on that day need be done, but 
that it is for them to say which are the cases of necessity. 
Let some such address be sent in the first instance to all 
the daily papers, and afterwards have it printed in circular 
or handbill form and sold at cost price to all who wish to dis¬ 
tribute it amongst their customers; and then, in a very little 
while, after educating the public in that manner, I feel sure 
that early closing would be a comparatively easy matter. 
I wish here to remark that the plan recommended by some 
of your correspondents of organizing a strike amongst assis¬ 
tants is a monstrous one, as the only effect of that would be 
to throw the late work upon the principals and apprentices, 
•—a result I apprehend the assistants would not like when 
by-and-by they became principals themselves. 
I think that the present affords an excellent opportunity 
for making a decided stand for short hours. If mechanics, 
who, as a body, have no wish to study, can carry their nine 
hours’ movement, surely we may reasonably demand from 
the public a limit of twelve. I believe that if we try it on, 
we shall get the support both of the press and the people. 
Folkestone, January 13 th, 1872. J. S. 
Observations in Practical Pharmacy. 
Sir,—The experience of any one accustomed to prepare 
mixtures similar to the one in question, will entirely disprove 
Mr. Welborn’s observations on my observations. The modus 
operandi suggested is just such as would be adopted by most 
dispensers, precisely what I did myself some twelve or four¬ 
teen years ago, when quite a youth, with the first prescription 
of the kind that came into my hands; but the results have 
always been unsatisfactory. The ammoniacal tincture is not 
quite so bad to deal with as the simple, and the addition of a 
little mucilage helps one considerably in making a mixture 
that can be taken; but I hold that no additions (however 
simple) should be made where they can be dispensed with. 
I am quite open to conviction, if my statements are incorrect, 
but have yet to learn that they are so. 
Charles Symes. 
Fork Flace, Birkenhead, January 13 th, 1872. 
Sir,—The interesting paper of Dr. Symes, continued in the 
Journal of December 30th, contains some remarks on the 
difficulty of dispensing a mixture of tinct. guaiaci, pot. bi¬ 
carb., and sp. £Ether. nit. with aq. ad gvj. The occurrence of 
such a prescription is by no means rare, and there should be 
no difficulty in dispensing it as written. 
To the powdered bicarbonate, in a mortar, add the tincture, 
triturating carefully; gradually add water, transferring suc¬ 
cessive portions to the bottle; lastly, add the sp. nitre, which 
may be diluted with more water, and fill up. In this way I 
have prepared a mixture literally according to the prescrip¬ 
tion quoted. It is quite satisfactory, with no appearance of 
resinous lumps. 
Dr. Symes’s difficulty seems to have arisen from ignoring 
the use of the mortar. With this accessory and the usual 
tact in proceeding “ secundum artem,” the desired result 
may be achieved whilst literally following the prescriber. 
Banbury. T. Beesley, jun. 
Syrup op Tolu. 
Sir,—Allow me distinctly to disclaim any intention to 
“mislead your readers,” nor do I think my remarks likely to 
have such an effect. 
I hope always to hail with gratitude any one who is willing 
to add to the stock of knowledge we possess; and Mr. Hasei- 
den deserves our hearty thanks for what he has done; still 
I cannot entirely agree with that gentleman’s proposition as¬ 
suming that i-esinous matter suspended in water can pass the 
filter, or how should we obtain a clear syrup ? I also adhere 
to the commonly received opinion that the presence of resi¬ 
nous matter in syrup of tolu is not liable to “ induce irritation 
or tickling about the fauces,” and instance the syrup of the 
United States and the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias,—the com¬ 
pound tincture of benzoin, tincture of tolu, pil. styracis co. 
(L. and E.), tannic acid lozenges and tolu lozenges, much 
used to allay tickling throat-cough,—all of which contain 
abundance of resinous matter. 
The Paris Codex formula runs thus:— 
“Sirop de Baume de Tolu. 
“ Baume de Tolu 125 
“ Eau (distillee) 500 
“Faites digerer au bain-marie couvert pendant 12 heures, 
en agitant de temps en temps; filtrez la liqueur, ajoutez-y: 
“ Sucre le double de son poids. 
“ F. dessourlre et filtrez au papier.” (No mention of cool¬ 
ing-) 
N.B. The system of weighing proportions here adopted is 
the same as that proposed by Professor Redwood, and might 
be applied with great advantage in all operations of phar¬ 
macy. 
‘L’Officine de Pharmacie pratique’ in commenting upon 
the above-mentioned process, says: — 
“ Les experiences de M. Deville et de M. Soubeiran onfc 
prouve que la dose de baume indiquee par la Codex pouvait 
etre traitee plusieurs fois, et donuer de nouveau sirop. Cepen- 
dant M. Soubeiran propose d’adopter une proportion moindre 
de baume, et de ne le traiter qu’une seule fois.” (This agrees 
with the experience of Mr. Haselden.) 
“ On a propose de preparer le sirop de tolu en precipitant la 
teinture par l’eau, filtrant la liqueur pour faire le sirop.” (Is 
the method adopted by the United States Pharmacopoeia.) 
“ Ou encore de broyer ce baume en petite quantite avec le 
sucre, de faire fondre ensemble et passer,” etc. 
Here follows a very noteworthy remark :— 
“ En employant de l’eau commune il se forme du benzoate 
de chaux insoluble, au detriment de la qualite du sirop.” 
Probably in this way: if the water were very hard, nearly, if 
not the whole of the benzoic acid would be precipitated as 
benzoate of lime. 
R. Goodwin Mumbray. 
jRichmond , S.W., January 9 th, 1872. 
P.S. My impression was that the P. Ed. ordered tincture 
with syrup, and I had thus written; but, hastily referring to 
Pereira, mistook the initial letter at the end of one formula 
for the beginning of the next.—R. G. M. 
9 _ 
“ Semper Virens.” —The best plan is treatment with strong’ 
sulphuric acid. 
“ A Duly ^Registered Assistant.” —Virtue should be its own 
reward. 
Communications, Letters, etc., have been received from 
Mr. L. Hooper, Mr. H. Pocklington, Mr. C. Parkinson, Mr. 
J. Whitfield, Mr. W. J. Tuck, Mr. J. B. Carr, Mr. W. J. 
Smith, Mr. G. Welborn, Mr. H. F. Bailey, Mr. H. H. Pol¬ 
lard, Mr. J. Harding, Dr. De Vry, Mr. W. V. Churchill, Mr. 
W. E. Hayland, Mr. J. II. Jackson, S. S., “Unity and Agita¬ 
tion,” “ Not an Old Chemist.” 
