352 
ON  THE  PREPARATION  OF  SMELLING  SALTS. 
ceutical  Society,  thinking  that  it  will  probably  interest  some  of 
the  members. 
I  will  first  describe  exactly  the  process  I  adopt,  and  afterwards 
give  the  chemical  explanation  of  the  process. 
Take  of  good  commercial  sesquicarbonate  of  ammonia  40 
avoirdupois  ounces,  break  it  into  small  pieces,  the  largest  of 
which  should  not  exceed  in  size  that  of  a  filbert,  and  put  it  into 
a  chemical  air-tight  jar  having  a  capacity  of  half  a  gallon.  Then 
pour  over  it  20  fluid  ounces  of  strong  solution  of  ammonia  (sp.  gr. 
•880),  previously  perfumed  according  to  taste,  and  immediately 
fix  on  the  lid  of  the  jar,  taking  care  that  it  is  properly  secured, 
and  keep  it  in  a  cool  place,  stirring  the  salt  with  a  stiff  spatula 
every  other  day  for  a  week.  Afterwards  allow  it  to  remain 
for  two  or  three  weeks,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  it  will 
have  become  hard — so  hard,  indeed,  that  if  the  precaution  of 
stirring  the  salt  were  neglected,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
remove  it  without  breaking  the  jar. 
The  period  during  which  the  salt  should  be  left  in  the  closed 
jar  sometimes  varies  a  little,  but  if  at  the  expiration  of  three 
weeks  from  the  time  at  which  the  mixture  was  made  it  has  not 
become  sufficiently  hard,  it  should  be  allowed  to  remain  for  a  few 
days  longer,  and  then  put  into  a  mortar  and  reduced  to  coarse 
powder,  so  as  to  admit  of  its  being  readily  introduced  into  any 
ordinary  smelling-bottle. 
When  thus  prepared,  I  generally  keep  it  in  well-stopped 
bottles,  each  containing  one  or  two  pounds'  weight,  and  in  this 
state  it  improves  by  keeping.  In  using  it  for  filling  smelling- 
bottles,  after  putting  the  dry  salt  into  the  bottle  a  further 
quantity  of  the  volatile  essence  should  be  added,  in  the  propor- 
tion of  about  one  drachm  to  an  ounce  of  the  salt.  After  making 
this  addition,  the  mixture  will  assume  a  crystalline  appearance, 
somewhat  resembling  salt  of  tartar,  and  it  is  in  this  state  that  T 
consider  it  to  be  in  the  best  condition  for  use.  It  is  strongly, 
but  pleasantly,  pungent,  and  continues  to  be  so  almost  as  long  as 
any  of  the  salt  remains  in  the  bottle. 
The  perfume  that  I  have  used  is  that  recommended  by  Dr. 
Redwood,  in  his  Supplement  to  the  Pharmaeofoeia,  and  is  as 
follows  : — 
