168 
Selected Articles. 
small stream into a large vessel of cold water, to divide it ; 
it is then to be placed on a somewhat coarse hair seive, and 
kept in a dry place, protected from dust. In about fifteen or 
twenty days, it will be found capable of extinguishing seven 
or eight times its weight of mercury, and this property goes 
on increasing as it acquires more rancidity and viscosity, so 
that in a few months it will promptly act on thirty-two times 
its weight of mercury. 
I leave it to more experienced chemists to explain why the 
same axunge, under other circumstances, and even appearing 
to be more rancid, does not act in the same manner. There 
is so much difference of opinion on this subject, that I will 
abstain from mentioning my views, and will merely give facts. 
R Prepared axunge ^ij. 
Mercury lbs.iij. 
They are to be rubbed together in a moderate sized mortar, 
having an ovoid bottom. If the axunge is too hard, a small 
:quantity of olive oil is to be mixed with it ; the mercury dis- 
appears in four or five minutes, and the mixture assumes a 
■pearl gray colour. Journ. de Pharm* 
