<694  Process  for  Mercurial  Ointment. 
Two  drams  of  each  of  the  above-named  salts  are  rubbed  together 
"till  the  mass  not  only  acquires  a  brown  color,  but  also  forms  quite  a 
pasty  consistence.   Add  powdered  tragacanth  half  a  drachm,  mix  well 
^and  let  stand  for  10  to  15  minutes.    The  mass  will  now  require  the 
addition  of  but  a  few  drops  (5  to  6)  of  simple  syrup  to  become  plastic. 
PEOCESS  FOR  Eapidly  Making  MERCURIAL  OINTMENT. 
By  PHIIi.  HOGLAN. 
To  the  readers  of  the  Journal  who  manufacture  their  own  mer- 
<3urial  ointment  the  following  plan  of  readily  extinguishing  the  mer- 
cury, and  thus  quickly  producing  the  ointment,  will  no  doubt  be  of 
some  benefit. 
A  few  days  ago,  being  desirous  of  making  some  of  the  ointment  as 
rapidly  as  possible  for  immediate  use,  I  pursued  the  following  plan: 
R    Old  mercurial  oint.,    .  .  .  .  '  2  oz. 
Suet,       .  .  .  .  .         2  oz. 
Mercury,       .  .  .  .  .  12  oz. 
Mix  thoroughly  the  suet  with  the  old  mercurial  ointment,  and  to 
the  mixture  in  a  mortar  add  the  mercury  in  three  separate  portions, 
triturating  rapidly  after  each  addition  till  the  globules  disappear,  aid- 
ing the  extinguishment  of  the  mercury  by  adding,  during  each  tritura- 
tion, 15  drops  of  ether. 
By  this  means  I  extinguished  the  mercury  in  15  minutes.  To  this 
mercurial  mixture  I  now  added  4  oz.  suet  and  6  oz.  lard,  melted 
together  and  strained,  and  triturated  the  mixture  until  cool,  thus  form- 
ing a  uniform  ointment  with  little  time  and  labor. 
With  tlie  hope  that  this  formula  may  prove  useful  to  some  of  your 
readers,  I  give  it  to  the  Journal. 
Newcomerstown,  Ohio^  November  9,  1881. 
THE  MORPHIA  STRENGTH  OF  TINCTURE  OF  OPIUM. 
By  Edward  W.  Smith,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
The  samples  were  examined  by  the  processes  of  Hager  and  Staples, 
and  two  experiments  were  made  in  each  case  with  50  grams  and  wdth 
one  fluidounce  of  the  tincture. 
Hager^s  Process. — 50  grams  of  the  tincture  were  evaporated  nearly 
^o  dryness  on  a  water-bath  ;  2  grams  of  freshly  slaked  lime  were  added 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1      Dec,  1881. 
