2U 
PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTES  OF  TRAVEL. 
use  in  cataplasm,  a  very  important  item  in  the  Pharmacy  of  the 
Hospitals.  As  the  proper  composition  of  Cataplasma  Lini  has 
been  a  subject  of  some  discussion  in  our  pharmaceutical  bodies, 
I  was  curious  to  know  the  practice  of  the  French  Hospitals,  and 
on  enquiry  was  informed  that  flaxseed  is  prepared  in  rather  coarse 
powder,  by  passing  successively  between  the  rough  and  smooth 
cylinders,  and  that  the  so-called  cake  of  commerce,  flaxseed 
deprived  of  the  oil,  is  reduced  to  a  much  finer  powder;  these  are 
then  mixed  in  the  proportion  of  one  part  of  the  fine  cake  meal,  and 
two  parts  of  ground  flaxseed,  to  constitute  the  material  for  poul- 
tices ;  mixed  with  certain  proportions  of  mustard  flour,  the  same 
materials  are  used  for  sinapisms. 
Among  the  mechanical  contrivances  worked  by  the  steam  en- 
gine, my  attention  was  arrested  by  one  for  crushing  almonds, 
which  consists  of  two  stone  cylinders  moving  almost  in  con- 
tact with  each  other,  and  reducing  the  almonds  to  an  oily 
pulp ;  for  obtaining  the  fixed  oil  this  is  subjected  to  the 
powerful  action  of  a  hydraulic  press.  When  designed  for  orgeat 
syrup  the  almonds  are  previously  blanched  by  maceration  in  water 
and  handling,  as  with  us,  a  matter  of  no  slight  labor  when  we 
consider  the  very  large  quantity  of  this  syrup  consumed  in 
French  practice. 
An  enormous  quantity  of  simple  syrup  is  manufactured  at 
the  Pharmacie  Centrale,  and  the  apparatus  for  its  preparation 
is  a  prominent  feature  in  the  establishment.  The  syrup  kettle, 
which  is  of  copper,  has  a  capacity  of  perhaps  over  a  hundred 
gallons,  it  is  heated  by  steam,  and  of  course  the  sugar  is  dis- 
solved with  perfect  facility.  The  arrangements  for  drawing  it 
off  and  refrigerating  it  are  complete ;  as  the  immense  body 
of  syrup  would  be  very  long  cooling  and  would  be  troublesome 
to  transfer  to  suitable  vessels  for  preservation  and  distribution, 
a  tube  of  considerable  capacity  is  arranged  to  pass  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  syrup  kettle ;  this  is  connected  with  a  force  pump  by 
which  the  syrup  is  pumped  through  a  coil  of  pipe  immersed  in  a 
refrigerating  tube,  from  which  it  runs  into  a  series  of  cisterns  from 
which  it  can  be  conveniently  drawn  by  cocks.  The  syrup  kettle  is 
charged  three  times  a  week,  so  that  these  cisterns  require  to  be 
of  considerable  capacity  to  provide  for  the  occasional  surplus  of 
supply.     In  a  large  conical  bag  adjacent  to  the  series  of  pans 
