350  Notes  on  Practical  Pharmacy.  {A^ffi£Sg^ 
against  the  use  of  alcohol,  as  in  the  1880  Revision,  or  olive  oil,  as 
in  the  1890  Revision,  to  render  veratrine  smooth  in  making  vera- 
trine  ointment.  A  small  quantity  of  glycerin  is  better.  Glycerin 
is  also  of  superior  utility  in  softening  extract  of  belladonna  prior  to 
making  it  into  ointment;  the  Pharmacopoeia  specifies  diluted 
alcohol. 
Mucilage  of  Sassafras  Pith. — This  mucilage  is  best  made  by 
beating  the  pith,  in  a  wedgewood  or  porcelain  mortar,  with  a  small 
quantity  of  sterilized  water  until  it  gets  pasty,  expressing  through 
cheese-cloth,  returning  residue  to  mortar,  adding  more  of  the  water 
and  continuing  as  before.  In  this  way,  in  a  short  time,  a  dense  and 
syrup-like  mucilage  may  be  had,  very  different  in  physical  appear- 
ance from  the  watery  product  gotten  by  following  the  official  direc- 
tions of  simple  maceration  in  water  for  three  hours  and  straining. 
As  this  preparation  is  used  as  an  emollient  in  inflammatory  con- 
ditions of  the  eye-ball  and  mucous  membranes,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
greater  the  percentage  of  mucilage  in  solution,  the  more  soothing 
it  will  be.  In  these  days  of  asepsis,  the  use  of  water  in  making  the 
official  mucilage  is  an  unpardonable  sin  in  the  eyes  of  oculists. 
Sterilized  water,  i.  e.t  water  or  distilled  water  boiled  and  cooled, 
only  should  be  employed.  Three  hours'  time  in  making  the 
preparation  is  far  too  long,  when  it  can  be  better  done  in  a  few 
minutes. 
Hope's  Camphor  Mixture. — This  old  preparation  has  been  gradu- 
ally increasing  in  use,  and  is  recognized  by  the  National  Formulary 
under  the  name  of  Mistura  Camphora  Acida,  which  authority  fol- 
lows the  formula  of  Ellis  (Griffith's  Formulary,  1866,  p.  160)  in 
using  nitric  acid.  The  original  formula  of  Hope,  however,  specified 
nitrous  acid.  The  formula  we  have  used  for  years  is :  Fuming 
nitrous  acid,  2  fluid  drachms ;  tincture  of  opium,  80  minims,  and 
camphor  water,  I  pint.  Parrish's  Pharmacy  (1884)  refers  to  the 
mixture  as  follows  : 
"  This  formula  was  originally  made  public  after  twenty-six  years' 
experience  of  its  use  in  dysentery,  by  Thomas  Hope,  Esq.,  surgeon, 
Chatam,  in  the  Edinburgh  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  January, 
1824.  Dr.  Hope  was  in  the  habit  of  directing  nitrous  acid,  not 
nitric,  which  he  says  h.e  has  '  not  found  to  produce  any  good  effect.' 
I  have  been  careful  to  follow  his  formula  literally,  and  have  for  the 
purpose  prepared  nitrous  acid  by  the  process  given  on  p.  200  ; 
