358  Irish  Moss  a  Substitute  for  Acacia.  {Amji^i8£harm' 
1  kilogram  of  the  purified  charpie  is  plunged ;  and,  in  order  to  dis- 
tribute the  bichloride  throughout  its  substance,  the  liquid  is  presssd  out 
and  reabsorbed  several  times.  It  is  then  withdrawn,  dried,  and  packed. 
To  prepare  the  boric  charpie,  100  grams  of  crystallized  boric  acid 
are  dissolved  in  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water;  100  grams  of  glycerin 
and  20  grams  of  Senegal  gum  previously  dissolved,  are  added  to  the 
solution,  and  pure  water  is  added  to  make  up  the  amount  to  2J  kilo- 
grams. One  kilogram  of  charpie  is  treated  in  this  solution  in  the  same 
manner  as  has  been  described  with  the  mercurial  charpie. 
To  prepare  the  carbolized  charpie,  two  plans  are  given,  but  the  fol- 
lowing is  the  one  recommended  as  the  most  simple  and  equally  effec- 
tive. A  layer  of  the  purified  charpie  is  laid  on  a  piece  of  oiled  silk 
{taffetas  gomme)  and  over  this  is  placed  a  piece  of  filtering  paper  of  suf- 
ficient size.  The  paper  is  sprinkled  with  carbolic  acid  dissolved  in 
alcohol  of  95°  strength.  The  whole  is  then  rolled  up  in  the  oiled  silk, 
secured  firmly  by  cord,  and  placed  in  a  chamber  at  a  temperature 
ranging  from  68°  to  77°  F.  If  the  charpie  is  required  to  be  carbo- 
lized 10  per  cent.,  the  blotting-paper  is  sprinkled  with  100  grams  of 
the  carbolic  acid  dissolved  in  50  grams  of  alcohol  at  95°  ;  if  5  per  cent., 
then  with  50  grams  of  the  carbolic  acid  in  50  grams  of  alcohol  at  95°. 
— Brit  Med.  Jour.,  March  12,  1887;  Quart Therap.  Rev. 
IRISH  MOSS  AS  A  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  GUM  ACACIA  IN 
PHARMACY.* 
By  Peter  Boa. 
At  the  present  time  when  the  price  of  gum  arabic  is  about  five 
times  what  used  to  be  considered  its  normal  value  it  seems  not  inap- 
propriate to  introduce  for  consideration  a  subject  such  as  I  have  to 
bring  before  you  to-night.  A  mucilage  of  Irish  moss,  prepared  by 
boiling  in  water,  has  been  largely  used  in  America  for  the  emulsifica- 
tion  of  cod  liver  oil,  but  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain  by  lib- 
eral reference  to  journals  published  in  that  country  and  in  this,  its 
more  extended  pharmaceutical  use  has  not  been  proposed. 
Some  years  ago  I  made  experiments  with  the  moss  mucilage  as  an 
emulsifier  of  cod  liver  oil,  but  my  experience  with  it  did  not  indicate 
*Read  before  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain  at  an  Evening 
Meeting  in  Edinburgh,  Wednesday,  May  11.  Reprinted  from  Phar.  Jour, 
and  Trans.,  May  21,  p.  941. 
