Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
April,  1882.  / 
Cold  Cream  or  Ceratum  Galeni. 
169 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  impossible  absolutely  to  secure  from 
the  given  ingredients  of  it  such  qualities  as  are  po})ularly  expected. 
After  careful  consideration  of  past  failures,  I  have  ventured  to  inquire 
whether  the  difficulty  might  not  be  overcome  by  one  or  other  of  the 
recent  discoveries  in  chemistry.  Accordingly,  several  months  ago,  my 
attention  was  drawn  to  an  entirely  new  agent,  termed  white  adepsme,  a 
mineral  product,  which  is  manufactured  under  the  superintendence  of 
Professor  R.  Fresenius.  The  new  agent  in  question  is  absolutely  neu- 
tral, chemically  pure,  void  of  odor,  and  unaffected  by  the  action  or 
temperature  of  the  air.  It  retains  the  perfect  purity  of  its  color  after 
repeated  exposure  to  heat,  and  it  readily  combines  with  oils,  whether 
fixed  or  essential,  in  various  proportions.  Alone,  or  in  substance,  the 
white  adepsine  is  rather  hard,  more  particuarly  after  it  has  been  melted. 
By  the  addition  of  pale  almond  oil,  and  flavored  with  the  finest  otto  of 
roses,  a  product  is  formed  which  may  well  be  teraied  cold  cream. 
I  have  ])repared  and  supplied  this  article,  and  I  lind  that  it  is  uni- 
versally liked,  and  that  in  point  of  adaptability  it  is  all  that  can  be 
desired.  In  my  opinion,  white  adepsine  is  a  pro(hict  which  will  form 
an  important  factor  in  pharmacy  and  will  prove  a  boon  to  r'hemists. 
It  will  take  the  place  (as  I  conceive)  of  other  substances  which  have 
not  been  found  so  well  fitted  for  certain  special  ends.  I  am  well 
aware  that  this  looks  like  tlie  language  of  pretension.  I  am  also 
aware  of  the  common  objection  to  new  proposals.  To  adopt  and 
introduce  adepsine,  it  may  be  said,  is  to  upset  all  our  associations  with 
an  unguent  in  common  use  from  time  immemorial.  Admitting  all 
this,  it  would  be  nothing  strange  to  hear  of  constant  changes  in  the 
annals  of  chemistry.  It  would  be  only  one  step  more  in  the  history 
of  minerals  or  of  the  mineral  oils.  It  is  permissible  to  say,  in  a 
word,  that  if  by  tlie  means  proposed  a  new  and  better  article  is  intro- 
duced, the  change  from  an  old  to  a  new  formula  will,  like  so  many 
others  in  our  day,  be  more  than  justified  by  the  results. 
N.  B. — The  formula  which  I  have  adopted  is: 
To  each  pound  of  white  adepsine  add  2  oz.  ])a]e  ^vlmond  oil  and 
dram  otto  of  roses. 
Melt  the  adepsine  in  a  water-bath,  then  add  the  oil,  and  when  it 
assumes  a  slightly  opaque  appearance,  add  the  otto  and  lill  into  pot& 
in  the  usual  way.  Should  it  be  considered  desirable  to  liave  the  rose- 
water  added,  it  may  be  combined  in  the  j)ro[),ortion  of  one  })art  ta 
seven. — Phar.  Jour,  ^ml  Trans.,  Feb.  18,  1882. 
