Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
Mar.,  1881.  j 
Practical  Notes. 
99 
common  to  other  oils  cannot  be  doubted.  It  has  now  been  in  general 
use  at  least  thirty  years,  if  not  longer,  and  its  sale  is  larger  to-day  than 
ever  before ;  so,  any  means  employed  whereby  it  can  be  more  readily 
taken  without  causing  disgust  may  be  of  service  to  some  poor  sufferer 
who  has  to  use  it  daily. 
If  to  each  ounce  of  the  oil  are  added  f^ii  of  tomato  catsup  or  wal- 
nut catsup,  and  well  shaken  whenever  required  for  use,  a  mixture  is 
formed  which  many  persons  to  whom  I  have  recommended  it  have 
found  quite  palatable,  and  to  agree  with  the  stomach  better  than  any 
other  form  in  which  it  had  been  taken.  There  appears  to  me  to  be  a 
reason  for  this,  namely,  the  association  of  substances  generally 
•employed  as  additions  to  food,  thereby  bringing  into  operation  those 
digestive  faculties  of  the  stomach  which  otherwise  might  remain  dor- 
mant when  such  incongruous  substances  as  sugar  and  one  of  the  prin- 
<3ipal  ingredients  of  fish  are  introduced  together  into  the  stomach,  as  is 
done  when  emulsions  are  given.  What  would  be  thought  of  eating 
•cod  fish  or  lobster  with  a  dressing  made  of  sugar  and  gum  ?  This 
would  require,  perhaps,  some  effort  to  swallow,  yet  not  more  so  than 
is  required  of  some  poor  consumptive,  with  weak  digestion,  when 
some  of  the  saccharine  mixtures  of  cod  liver  oil  are  presented  to  him. 
Another,  and  not  unpalatable  mixture,  can  be  made  and  often  taken 
readily  by  the  patient,  which  consists  of 
Liebig's  extract,    .  .  .  .     ^  an  ounce 
Extract  celery  seeds,    ...  J  fluidraclim 
Vinegar,  .  .  .  .  .1  fluidounce 
Water,  ....         2  fliiidounces 
Cod  liver  oil,         .  .  .  .5  " 
Dissolve  the  extract  of  beef  in  water,  add  the  vinegar  and  oil,  shake 
well  together  with  the  extract  of  celery. 
The  Solubility  of  Borax  Increased  by  Sugar. — Having  frequent 
occasion  to  prepare  the  glycerol  of  borax,  the  thought  occurred  to  me 
that  perhaps  sugar  might  have  the  same  effect  as  glycerin  in  increasing 
the  solubility  of  that  salt,  and  in  this  I  find  that  I  am  not  mistaken ; 
for,  upon  mixing  50  grains  of  borate  of  sodium  with  180  grains  of  sugar 
and  6  fluidrachms  of  water,  I  notice  that  perfect  solution  occurs, 
whereas  without  the  sugar  only  22  grains  will  dissolve  in  that  quan- 
tity at  60°F.  The  increased  solubility  is  probably  due  to  a  chemical 
compound  being  formed  in  the  same  manner  that  sugar  unites  with 
sodium  chloride,  and  forms  a  crystalline  salt  that  is  described  as  being 
