168 
Oleate  of  Mercury. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Phawn. 
\      April,  1889. 
A  sample  of  corn  meal  examined  yielded  to  petroleum  ether  only 
2*65  per  cent,  of  oil ;  ash,  1*2  per  cent. 
The  adulteration  of  ground  flaxseed  with  such  material  is  likely 
quite  common,  and  may  be  easily  detected  by  the  test  for  starch.  It 
is  a  well-known  fact  that,  although  flaxseed  may  contain  starch  while 
growing,  in  the  fully  matured  seed  the  starch  is  entirely  converted  into 
albumen  aud  oil.  The  writer  suggests  that  the  Pharmacopoeia  should 
require  flaxseed  to  give  with  iodine  no  reaction  for  starch.  As  most 
flaxseed  yields  considerably  over  30  per  cent,  of  oil,  I  am  also  of  the 
opinion  that  the  Pharmacopoeia  should  require  it  to  yield  not  less  than 
30  per  cent.,  instead  of  25  per  cent.,  as  in  the  present  edition. 
OLEATE  OF  MERCURY. 
By  A.  P.  Brown,  Ph.  G. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  March  21. 
Several  years  ago  Dr.  Wolff  read  a  paper  on  "  Oleates  "  (see  Amer- 
ican Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1881,  p.  545),  and  recommended 
them  to  be  made  by  decomposing  sodium  oleate  (white  castile  soap) 
with  a  soluble  salt  of  the  desired  metal.  For  instance,  to  make  oleate 
of  zinc,  a  solution  of  acetate  of  zinc  is  added  to  a  solution  of  oleate  of 
sodium  ;  a  white  precipitate  will  fall  which,  when  washed  and  dried, 
is  termed  powdered  oleate  of  zinc.  For  making  oleate  of  mercury,  a 
solution  of  oleate  of  sodium  is  added  to  a  solution  of  bichloride  of 
mercury,  the  mixture  becomes  milky  and  in  order  to  separate  the 
oleate  of  mercury  it  is  necessary  to  boil  the  mixture  until  the  oleate 
forms  a  yellow  mass,  when  the  remaining  liquid  is  poured  off  and 
the  oleate  washed  with  water,  transferred  to  an  evaporating  dish  and 
on  a  water  bath  heated  until  all  the  water  is  driven  off. 
Now,  in  preparing  oleate  of  mercury  according  to  this  process,  the 
continued  boiling  will  decompose  the  oleate  and  a  black  precipitate 
will  also  form,  and  instead  of  being  of  a  beautiful  yellow  color,  a  dark 
mixture  resembling  mercurial  ointment  would  be  the  result,  con- 
sisting of  a  mixture  of  oleate  and  oxide  of  mercury. 
Having  occasion  to  use  considerable  quantities  of  oleate  of  mercury 
made  by  this  process,  I  was  anxious  to  have  a  nice  reliable  prepara- 
tion for  dispensing,  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  process  might  be  im- 
proved by  adopting  the  following  plan : 
Take  of  white  Castile  soap,  in  fine  powder,  5viii ;  bichloride  of 
