Amjune,r'if7h8arm  I  Emulsiones  Oleosa.  285 
are  few  preparations  to  which  as  little  attention  is  devoted  by  the 
average  druggist,  in  which  he  is  less  particular  and  skilled,  and  which 
he  considers  of  minor  importance,  not  considering  that  a  poorly-made 
emulsion  will  certainly  injure  his  reputation  considerably,  showing 
either  his  incompetency  or  his  carelessness,  or  a  little  of  both  ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  properly  made,  an  oil  emulsion  will  prove  a 
splendid  card  for  the  pharmaceutist  who  dispenses  it.  We  should 
always  endeavor  to  give  our  preparations  an  elegant  appearance,  as  long 
as  it  will  not  interfere  with  their  therapeutical  effects,  but  never  follow 
the  example  of  those  who  (f.  by  filtering  cloudy  solutions  contain- 
ing insoluble  ingredients)  sacrifice  the  medicinal  virtues  rather  than 
dispense  an  unsightly  preparation.  Physicians  quite  frequently,  object- 
ing to  the  presence  of  acids  in  solutions,  or  of  gum  or  any  other  emul- 
sionizer  in  mixtures  containing  oil  and  water,  prescribe  shake  mixtures. 
In  such  cases,  of  course,  we  are  not  authorized  under  any  considera- 
tion to  endeavor  to  improve  upon  their  recipe  by  additions  of  our  own  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  when  the  practitioner  desires  an  elegant  and 
effective  medicine  it  is  our  duty  to  try  our  best  to  furnish  a  perfect  pre- 
paration. Looking  over  a  prescription  file  we  often  notice  that  the 
doctor  leaves  it  for  us  to  decide  how  much  of  some  ingredients  is 
necessary  to  obtain  a  certain  result,  and  particularly  how  much  gum  or 
other  emulsionizer  is  required  to  prevent  a  separation  of  oil  in  a  mixture. 
I  happened  to  be  present  during  a  discussion  between  two  druggists, 
one  of  whom  claimed  that  an  emulsion  could  be  made  by  triturating 
the  whole  amount  of  oil  prescribed,  gum  arabic  and  a  certain  portion  of 
water,  thrown  together  into  a  mortar  at  once,  while  the  other  con- 
sidered this  ridiculous,  stating  that  every  apprentice  knew  that  it  was 
necessary  to  form  a  mucilage  first  with  gum  arabic,  sugar  and  some 
water,  and  then  add  the  oil  and  balance  of  the  water  gradually.  The 
particular  oil  they  had  reference  to  was  Oleum  Morrhuae.  This 
induced  me  to  make  the  following  experiments,  emulsionizing  codliver 
oil,  copaiva,  castor  oil  and  oil  of  turpentine,  respectively. 
1.  In  making  5  ozs.  of  emulsion  of  codliver  oil,  let  us  follow  the 
directions  of  the  "  Pharmacopoea  Germanica,"  which  orders  emulsiones 
oleosae  to  be  made  with  2  paits  of  oil,  1  of  pulverized  gum  arabic  and 
17  (seventeen)  parts  of  water,  unless  otherwise  directed  by  the  phy- 
sician. I  took  ol.  morrhuae,  f^iv  ;  pulv.  gum  acaciae,  3 ii  ;  aqu.  dest.T 
f,3iv,  poured  the  oil  and  water  on  the  gum  in  a  mortar,  triturated  them 
