Amjlnri8>7h7arm'}      Petroleum  Benzin  in  Pharmacy.  3 
sold  under  the  name  of  "  Joret  &  Homolle's,"  having  the  advantage 
of  its  low  price  making  it  accessible  to  persons  of  limited  means,  as 
well  as  to  the  more  favored  by  fortune,  especially  if  it  is  not  dispensed 
in  capsules,  for  which  there  is  no  occasion,  since  it  may  be  given  dis- 
solved in  essence  of  peppermint,  or  in  emulsion,  disguised  by  the  oil  of 
the  same  name.  Samples  of  "Apiol "  prepared  in  this  manner,  have 
been  tried  by  several  prominent  physicians,  in  their  practice,  and  were 
pronounced  to  be  equally  as  efficient  as  the  imported  French  article. 
Quite  frequently  the  fixed  oils  much  encumber  the  result  of  phar- 
maceutical operations,  as  is  prominently  the  case  in  preparing  the  "Al- 
coholic Extract  of  Nux  Vomica,"  which  has  often  been  noticed  and 
given  attention  to  by  many  writers.  (See  "A.  J.  Ph.,"  1874,  page 
405  ;  also,  Prof.  Procter  on  the  same.)  Nux  vomica,  if  exhausted 
with  benzin,  yields  a  large  percentage  of  a  clear  fixed  oil,  congealing 
at  ordinary  winter  temperature,  and  the  powder,  if  subsequently  treated 
in  the  usual  manner  with  stronger  alcohol,  gives  an  extract  which  offers 
no  trouble  by  proper  evaporation  in  reducing  it  to  the  dry  state.  The 
oil  derived  from  the  benzin  exhaust,  to  make  sure  of  not  losing  any 
strychnia  or  brucia  that  may  be  contained  therein,  should  be  repeatedly 
shaken  with  dilute  alcohol  until  the  washings  fail  to  betray  to  the  pal- 
ate the  specific  bitter  taste  of  their  alkaloids  ;  then  the  washings  must 
be  mixed  with  the  extract  in  course  of  evaporation,  and  the  whole 
reduced  to  proper  consistency.  By  the  ordinary  way,  the  separation 
of  the  oil  from  the  extract  is  at  best  a  tedious  matter,  causing  the  loss 
of  extract,  and  is  never  completely  performed,  thus  preventing  evapo- 
ration to  dryness,  which  by  the  benzin  process  is  readily  effected. 
Another  article,  which  the  pharmacist  has  frequently  to  purchase  at 
an  exorbitant  price,  is  "  Purified  Oleic  Acid,"  which  has  been  much 
used  of  late  in  making  the  oleates  now  in  use,  and  can  be  easily  and 
at  small  expense  prepared  with  benzin  as  solvent,  in  the  following  way  : 
Oil  of  sweet  almonds,  saponified  with  caustic  potash  and  the  soap 
decomposed  with  tartaric  acid,  is  washed  with  hot  water  to  separate 
the  precipitated  bitartrate  of  potassium  from  the  mixture  of  oleic  and 
palmitic  acids.  These  are  combined  with  litharge  forming  the  oleo- 
margarate  of  lead,  from  which  the  benzin  dissolves  the  oleate  of  lead, 
leaving  as  residue  the  undissolved  palmitate  thereof.  From  the  benzin 
solution  the  lead  is  precipitated  by  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  in  form  o  f 
chloride  of  lead,  and  on  evaporation  of  the  benzin,  "  Oleic  Acid  " 
