212 
Preparations  of  Soap. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1900. 
A  FEW  REMARKS  ON,  AND  WORKING  FORMULAS 
FOR,  THE  OFFICIAL  AND  OTHER  PREPARATIONS 
OF  SOAP. 
By  M.  I.  Wn,BERT,  Ph.G., 
Apothecarj^  at  the  German  Hospital,  Philadelphia. 
Few  preparations  have  been  more  liberally  discussed,  and  few 
give  the  working  pharmacist  more  annoyance  than  do  the  official 
preparations  of  soap.  We  need  offer  no  apology,  therefore,  for 
adding  this  contribution  to  the  numerous  and  varied  ideas  and 
opinions  that  have  been  published. 
Sapo  Mollis :  Those  of  us  who  have  had  occasion  to  make  this 
preparation  according  to  the  directions  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  will 
readily  recall  the  trouble  that  it  occasions,  the  time  that  is  required, 
and  the  amount  of  stirring  that  is  necessary  before  the  mixture  of 
alkali,  water  and  oil  begins  to  saponify. 
In  hospital  practice,  and  especially  in  a  hospital  doing  much 
surgical  work,  this  preparation  is  used  very  extensively.  Having 
occasion  to  supply  relatively  large  quantities  of  green*  soap,  to  be 
used  for  various  purposes,  we  soon  discovered  that  the  official 
formulj  required  more  than  a  reasonable  amount  of  time  and  atten- 
tion. Time,  especially  when  it  must  be  devoted  exclusively  to  any 
one  thing,  is  rather  too  valuable;  and  it  was  with  the  idea  of  trying 
to  overcome  this  necessary  close  application  that  we  began  experi- 
menting so  as  to,  if  possible,  simplify  the  necessary  technique. 
If  we  stop  to  consider  what  we  desire  tQ  accomplish,  by  the 
application  of  heat  and  the  constant  stirring  of  the  mixture  of 
alkali,  oil  and  water,  we  will  readily  see  that  it  is- the  more  or  less 
intimate  mixing  of  the  oil  with  the  aqueous  solution  of  the  alkali, 
so  as  to  allow  the  latter  to  act  on  the  former  under  the  most  favor- 
able conditions. 
To  reproduce  this,  or  approximate  an  equally  favorable  condition, 
we  finally  decided  on  the  following  formula  and  method  of  pro- 
cedure : 
Green  soap   250 
Linseed  oil   2,000 
Potassa  (90  per  cent. )   45° 
Alcohol   200 
Distilled  water  ,   2,250 
To  the  alcohol,  in  a  good-sized  vessel,  add  the  green  soap  and 
allow  to  dissolve,  then  add  1,250  c.c.  of  water  and  dissolve  the  alkali 
