330 
SELECTED ARTICLES. 
copoeiaSj a complete description of the drugs' ordered; such as 
will enable the best to be easily recognised, together with the 
means, as far as is known, of testing their purity, and of re- 
moving adulterations. These are the legitimate objects of a 
Pharmacopoeia. 
With respect to the pharmaceutical preparations, this book 
is miserably deficient. One of the few sensible alterations 
which we have observed, is, directing the aromatic waters to 
be prepared by rubbing the oil together with carbonate of 
magnesia and the proper quantity of water, and then filtering. 
But even here we have the usual exhibition of negligence. 
Do they mean, that as much oil of roses should be employed, 
as oil of cinnamon? Hemlock poultice is desired to be pre- 
pared by mixing together two ounces of extract of hemlock, 
a pint of water, and a sufficient quantity of linseed meal. 
What an expensive and awkward process ! Yeast poultice is 
to be made with a pound of flower and half a pint of barm. 
We refer them to Mr. Donavan's paper, in the Annals of 
Pharmacy, for the year 1830, to show them the absurdity of 
this preparation. " Ceratum sabinae" is useless, according to 
their method of preparing it. How much of the essential oil 
do they imagine will be extracted by immersing savine leaves 
in melted lard, and then expressing? The Dublin College go 
to the other extreme, in a similar preparation; directing you 
to fry the leaves in lard, and, consequently, driving off all the 
essential oil. The best way of preparing it is, to rub a deter- 
minate quantity of essential oil with simple ointment. " Ce- 
ratum saponis " still continues with all its imperfections on 
its head. By boiling soap together with a solution of acetate 
of lead, some very excellent ly tharge plaster is formed, which 
floats in a solution of acetate of soda; by boiling down the 
liquid to the consistence of a paste previous to the addition of 
the soap, this might be avoided. We refer them to Mr. 
Ferguson's paper, in the first volume of the Dublin Journal. 
There is an air of mock dignity about the directions of all 
pharmacopoeias^ which affords us much amusement, but which 
is connected with this inconvenience, that great difficulty is 
