Am .  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1889. 
Oleates. 
597 
Oleate  of  lead  thus  prepared  is  a  buff-colored  firm  mass,  fusing  at 
65°  C,  forming  an  entirely  clear  liquid  at  68°  C,  and  is  very  soluble 
in  carbon  bisulphide,  chloroform,  ether,  petroleum  ether  and  benzol, 
sparingly  in  turpentine  and  alcohol.  There  is  but  little  use  for  this 
oleate,  as  the  officinal  lead  plaster  and  diachylon  ointment  are  practi- 
cally preparations  of  lead  oleate  and  sufficient  for  its  exhibition. 
Cupri  Oleas. 
Oleate  of  Copper,  Cu(C18H3302 la- 
Take  of— 
Oleic  acid  1,000  grains. 
Soda   160     "  orq.s. 
Alcohol   6  fluidrachms. 
Copper  sulphate   442  grains. 
Water,  a  sufficient  quantity. 
Saponify  the  oleic  acid  as  directed  in  the  formula  for  zinc  oleate, 
and  dissolve  the  resulting  soap  in  three  (3)  pints  of  water.  Dissolve 
the  copper  sulphate  in  one  pint  of  warm  water  and  filter.  Warm  the 
solutions  to  about  140°  to  150°  F.,  and  slowly  add  the  copper  solu- 
tion to  the  oleate  of  soda  solution,  stirring  constantly ;  warm  until  the 
copper  oleate  fuses  into  a  mass,  decant  the  clear  supernatant  liquid, 
wash  several  times  with  warm  water,  and  finally  dry  on  the  water-bath. 
Yield,  about  1,100  grains,  theoretical  yield  1,108. 
Oleate  of  copper,  as  thus  produced,  is  a  bright  green  waxy  mass, 
fusing  at  49°  C,  very  soluble  in  carbon  bisulphide,  chloroform,  ben- 
zol, ether,  turpentine,  petroleum  ether,  absolute  alcohol,  alcohol  and 
fixed  oils. 
Hydrargyri  Oleas. 
Oleate  of  Mercury,  Hg(CJ  8H3302)2. 
The  oleate  of  mercury  is  perhaps  the  oleate  most  frequently  pre- 
scribed, and  which,  made  in  accordance  with  the  Pharmacopoeia  by 
dissolving  the  oxide  in  oleic  acid,  is  a  very  unstable  compound.  The 
very  excess  of  oleic  acid  being  the  prime  factor  in  causing  its  decom- 
position. Several  writers  have  proposed  to  make  the  officinal  oleate  a 
twenty  per  cent,  solution  of  the  oxide  in  oleic  acid.  This,  while  a 
more  stable  preparation  than  the  present  officinal  ten  per  cent,  solu- 
tion, is  more  susceptible  of  change  than  a  true  oleate  made  by  double 
decomposition.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  far  better  to  make  the  officinal  a 
true  oleate  in  composition  as  well  as  in  name.  Dr.  J.  V.  Shoemaker 
(loc.  cit.)  proposed  to  make  such  an  oleate  of  mercury  by  decomposing 
oleate  of  soda  solution  by  means  of  mercuric  chloride,  the  solutions 
