742 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[March 16, 1872. 
and is not too pungent. It would pay any one 
liaving a still to prepare it by distillation, rather 
than make it with the oil, either extemporaneously 
or otherwise. Fennel water is but little employed 
in tlip southern part of England, except occasionally 
in eye lotions; like aniseed, it would keep but in¬ 
differently if prepared with the oil. Distilled vinegar 
is another case where distillation is necessary, the 
difference between distilled vinegar and dilute acetic 
acid being too perceptible and too gratefully different 
to be overlooked; the stove or furnace for heating j 
the still which should be a movable one might be 
constructed so as to receive a sand-bath, and the I 
vinegar might be distilled from a glass retort. Spirit 
of nitre and aromatic spirit of ammonia must be pre¬ 
pared by distillation from a retort attached to 
Liebig’s or other condenser; and here gas, with a 
proper burner, can be usefully employed. Although, 
allowing for breakages, it may not be commercially 
advantageous to make these upon a small scale, all 
pharmacists should be acquainted with the processes, 
and able to manipulate them, and every student 
should prepare them during his term of tutelage. 
Masters can scarcely be said to do their duty by 
apprentices, if they neglect practically to initiate 
them into these matters. One can well conceive the 
anxiety of the young hand over his first quart of 
spirit of nitre in years gone by; how he would feel 
the receiver to be assured it was cool; how he would 
sniff at any indication of an escape; how warm he 
would become at an occasional bumping; and how 
pleased when the required quantity was obtained, 
the retort and receiver separated and put carefully 
away without an accident, preserving the residue in 
the retort for a future operation. Professor Red¬ 
wood’s process in the Phar. Brit, has relieved the 
operator from these as well as other anxieties about 
this preparation. 
I have already stated that in some pharmacies 
the tinctures are bought, which is to be regretted 
for several reasons. They require for their pre¬ 
paration, an iron mortar or mill, a sieve or two, a 
root-cutter, a percolator or macerator, or better still, 
the two in one, furnished with a tap, and lastly, a 
press made of galvanized iron, large or small, accord¬ 
ing to circumstances. The tinctures can be made 
better, and thereby cheaper, than they can be bought, 
and they can be turned out with little variation. 
By what system of tuition can a pupil or apprentice 
be taught the nature and composition of a tincture 
so well as by that of reducing to a proper condition 
for being operated upon, the several constituents of 
any or every tincture ? In the preparation of tinc¬ 
tures, the question has often occurred to myself, and, 
as I find, to others,—I may mention Messrs. Giles 
and Greenish,—whether the modus operandi, and the 
nature of the menstruum as at present ordered, are 
always the best that could be devised? whether 
proof-spirit might not sometimes be replaced by a 
stronger or weaker spirit ? and whether spirit and 
water should always be used mixed, or whether they 
might not be made in some cases to act upon the 
ingredients separately, sometimes the spirit first, and 
sometimes the water? and whether a powdered or 
bruised state of the ingredients is the better ? I have 
endeavoured upon a former occasion to show that 
tincture of calumba can be more advantageously 
prepared from the root in a sliced condition; and I 
believe that this would apply to all material contain¬ 
ing much starch. I may here mention other pre¬ 
parations requiring vessels or apparatus similar to 
those used for tinctures, namely, the fluid extracts, 
and the liniments of aconite and belladonna; acetum 
cantharidis and liquor epispasticus requiring a suit¬ 
able glass percolator. 
It is always good employment of spare time to 
make small quantities for home consumption of such 
preparations as citrate of potash, saccharated solu¬ 
tion of lime, saccharated carbonate of iron, the solu¬ 
tions of iron, solution of arsenic, solution of sub- 
acetate of lead, syrup of iodide of iron, syrup of 
phosphate of iron, and many others. Amongst the 
preparations of which there is a considerable con¬ 
sumption, and of which the public are good judges, 
and prefer the make of certain houses, may be in¬ 
stanced compound decoction of aloes, aqueous ex¬ 
tract of the same, compound extract of colocynth, 
compound rhubarb pill, confection of senna, and 
compound rhubarb powder or Gregory’s powder. 
Is this preference of a discerning public to be won¬ 
dered at, knowing, as many pharmaceutists do, that 
these have been prepared not always in accordance 
with prescribed formulae as to ingredients ? With the 
conveniences before mentioned, the green extracts, 
and nearly all the others, can be made readily. The 
compound pills, as a rule, and the compound powders 
can be as easily made, or mixed, as a pound of tooth 
powder, with the help of a good-sized mortar and a 
sieve. The syrups and oxymels should be made at 
home; decoctions and infusions follow as a matter of 
course, gas being all that is necessary as the source 
of heat. 
The ointments, until one or two exceptions, can be 
as advantageously made as bought, and these pro¬ 
bably are more frequently made than many other 
things. The liquors of hemlock, broom and taraxa¬ 
cum require only elbow grease and pressure. The 
much abused (and in many instances deservedly so) 
granules may be prepared, more especially those 
which become changed after a certain time. I may 
mention those particularly which contain iron. Of 
the wines of the Pharmacopoeia I would particularly 
draw attention to those of opium, ipecacuanha, col- 
chicum and iron. These are the most important, 
and for the wine of opium I would advise every one 
to prepare the extract, and prepare it carefully; to 
select the ipecacuanha root and colchicum corms for 
those wines. The iron wine may be readily and 
uniformly made by following three suggestions: 
employing the same quality of wine at all times, 
keeping the iron wire above the wine and not clear¬ 
ing out the jar in which it is made, but adding from 
time to time fresh wine. By this mode of proceed¬ 
ing it will be always dark enough, sweet enough, 
and as well charged with iron as it can be. 
It may be asked, cannot some of the Pharma¬ 
copoeia chemicals be equally well prepared ? When 
I commenced this paper I had in my mind the 
galenicals as coming really within the province 
more especially of the pharmacist, and as being 
within the scope of his premises. The manufacture 
of chemicals requires especial apparatus, extensive 
premises and a large practical experience to make 
them advantageously in any respect. Nevertheless, 
as these lines have been penned especially with the 
view to an improved practical acquaintance with 
processes in the future, and the better instruction of 
apprentices, I would add that I should like to hear 
of students and apprentices being instructed in the 
preparation of the Pharmacopoeia chemicals upon 
