74 
ON  CARRAGEEN. 
be,  in  my  judgment,  very  permanent,  and  keep  a  long  time 
without  becoming  "rancid"  or  "ropy."  No.  4  is  made  with  a 
still  larger  amount  of  paraffin,  and  here  the  peculiarity  of  the 
cooling  point  is  an  objection. 
You  will  notice  the  ointment  is  "granulated,"  and  cannot  be 
considered  a  good  pharmaceutical  preparation. 
I  have  noticed  that  the  presence  of  a  small  amount  of  white 
wax  tends  to  make  the  paraffin  much  more  "  tractable,"  if  such 
an  expression  is  applicable ;  it  seems  to  destroy  in  a  measure 
the  tendency  to  "granulate,"  and  renders  the  paraffin  much 
more  tenacious. 
In  conclusion,  I  would  offer  as  my  opinion  that  paraffin  may 
be  used  as  a  substitute  for  either  wax  or  spermaceti  in  cerates, 
and  that  in  an  ointment  containing  a  certain  amount  of  water 
it  is  better  to  have  a  portion  of  wax  retained  as  rendering  the 
paraffin  more  available.  As  to  the  therapeutic  objections  to 
paraffin  I  can  only  say,  that  judging  from  the  peculiar  character- 
istics of  this  substance,  I  should  suppose  there  would  be  no  rea- 
son for  any  whatever. — Proo,  American  Pharmaceutical  Asso- 
oiation,  1860. 
ON  CAHAGEEN. 
By  Augustus  P.  Melzar,  of  Boston. 
"  To  what  extent  is  Carrageen  collected  on  the  coast  of  New  England  for  the 
supply  of  Commerce?" 
The  red-colored  algae  being  abundant  in  the  deeper  and 
darker  parts  of  the  sea,  the  characteristics  of  the  coast  of  New 
England  naturally  lead  one  to  suppose  that  it  may  be  found  in 
this  vicinity  in  great  quantities  and  of  the  purest  quality. 
The  Carrageen,  or  "Irish  Moss,"  is  gathered  to  a  consider- 
able extent  in  Massachusetts,  but  not  to  any  amount  in  other 
parts  of  New  England. 
Along  the  south  shore  of  Massachusetts,  bordering  upon  the 
bay,  the  moss-gatherers  during  four  months  of  the  year  collect 
the  moss  from  the  rocks,  and  from  the  beach,  (where  it  is  often 
landed  after  being  torn  from  the  rocks  by  the  action  of  the  sea,) 
and  spread  it  high  up  on  the  beach  to  dry  and  bleach  in  the  sun» 
thus  preparing  it  for  the  market. 
