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PRACTICAL  NOTES  ON  PHARMACY. 
Through  his  politeness,  we  were  favored  with  a  written  recipe 
for  fever  and  ague,  which  he  compounded  for  us,  and  which  pre- 
sents a  singular  appearance  to  the  American  eye.  We  have  for- 
warded a  portion  to  the  editor  of  the  Am.  Journ.  of  Pharmacy  for 
inspection. 
Sacramento,  Cal.}  Jan.  1854. 
PRACTICAL  NOTES  ON  PHARMACY. 
By  Joseph  Laidlet,  Pharmaceutist,  Richmond,  Virginia. 
Having  frequently  heard  complaints  against  the  officinal  formulae 
for  some  of  the  syrups,  I  have  thrown  together  a  few  notes  in 
reference  to  some  of  the  more  unstable  members  of  this  class  of 
preparations  such  as  senna,  senega,  ipecacuanha,  orange  peel  and 
hive  syrup,  and  will  attempt,  in  this  paper,  to  point  out  the  means 
by  which  these  preparations  may  be  rendered  more  permanent 
than  they  now  usually  prove  to  be ;  and  in  connection  with  this 
subject,  to  suggest  a  plan  of  making  handsomer  syrups  of  tolu  and 
ginger  than  the  officinal  formulae  afford  ;  prefacing  the  whole  with 
some  general  observations  on  this  class  of  medicines,  and  the 
causes  of  the  frequent  failures  to  prepare  them  properly.  Many  per- 
sons on  attempting  to  prepare  the  syrups  of  the  Pharmacopoeia 
fail,  because  they  do  not  comprehend  the  processes,  and  do  not 
consider  what  their  object  in  making  the  preparation  should  be. 
A  medicated  syrup  should  contain  the  active  principle  of  the  drug 
in  such  a  form  as  to  render  it  permanent  for  a  reasonable  length  of 
time ;  if  persons  do  not  succeed  in  accomplishing  this,  it  is  usual 
to  change  the  formula  as  being  imperfect.  I  have  heard  com- 
plaints of  this  character  from  persons,  who  in  preparing  syrups, 
used  only  twelve  pounds  (avoirdupois)  of  sugar  to  one  gallon  of 
liquid.  Of  course  such  a  syrup  would  soon  ferment,  unless  the  defi- 
ciency of  sugar  were  compensated  for  by  alcohol,  or  some  other  pre- 
servative agent.  That  there  is  room  for  improvement  in  some  of 
the  formulae  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  ho  one  will  deny,  but  we  must 
remember  that  it  is  intended  to  be  the  guide  of  a  class  of  persons 
which  embraces  all  degrees  of  intelligence  and  attainment,  and, 
consequently  had  to  be  adapted  to  the  knowledge  and  means  of  this 
heterogeneous  mixture,  rendering,  in  some  instances,  a  perfectly 
scientific  process  out  of  the  question,  and  for  the  sake  of  securing 
