278 
Original Communications. 
perience has proved that syrups bottled while yet warm, are 
sure to give rise to mould, and as much as Mr. M. is disposed 
to encourage its formation, I am as little inclined to consider 
the value of a syrup enhanced by it; its appearance in syrups 
is certainly not calculated to win for it favourable opinions 
from our patrons. 
Brown mixture, a kind of cough syrup, consisting of a sa- 
turated solution of extract of liquorice, united with gum Ara- 
bic, antimonial wine, and paregoric, was once a difficult pre- 
paration for me to keep; though several ways were tried to 
prevent it, it invariably turned sour after it had been made 
three or four days, until by the addition of an extra portion 
of paregoric, I succeeded in keeping it perfectly sweet for 
months together. 
Lastly come the distilled medicinal waters, with which 
Mr. M. concludes his paper. It may be well to acquaint my 
readers, that in Europe, particularly in France and Germany, 
a great use is made of waters distilled from freshly gathered 
medicinal plants. They frequently employ the highly charged 
waters of lettuice, balm, savine, hyssop, cherry-laurel, lime 
tree flowers, and others, in the virtues of which they place 
the greatest reliance in almost every disorder. In the same 
manner are prepared their aromatic and perfumed waters; 
these, when freshly distilled, have a slight empyreumatic 
odour, which disappears after some time, leaving a finely per- 
fumed water that improves by age. The properties of all 
these waters, are preserved with ordinary care in all respects, 
but that of clearness; they are subject to a deposition of mu- 
cilaginous matters, from time to time, in the form of a slight 
film, which obliges them to be filtered on these occasions. 
The few aromatic waters made use of in this country 
which are the cinnamon, mint, orange flower, and fennel, 
and prepared by the suspension of their essential oils, through 
the intervention of magnesia, are as easily kept as made. 
But the rose water prepared according to our Pharmacopoeia 
invariably becomes sour, from the alcohol contained in it, 
