5i6 
Ointments. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharru. 
1  November,  1900. 
same  variety  of  temperature.  In  warm  weather  the  paraffine  usu- 
ally separates,  crystallizing  out  in  granular  or  in  large  crystalline 
masses.  The  naturally  existing  mixture  of  paraffine  and  oil  seems 
to  be  more  stable  than  the  product  of  any  attempt  at  imitation. 
A  few  words  as  to  our  reasons  for  preferring  petrolatum  as  a  base 
for  ointments  : 
(1)  Economy.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  price  of  an  article 
always  plays  a  very  important  part  in  its  selection.  In  this  case  the 
use  of  petrolatum  would  effect  a  saving  of  from  20  to  30  per  cent, 
in  the  cost  of  the  majority  of  ointments. 
(2)  Non-absorption  of  the  base.  This  is  of  decided  advantage  in 
cases  where  a  protective  covering  is  the  chief  object  sought  for  or 
required.  Such  ointments  as  boric  acid,  carbolic  acid  and  oxide  of 
zinc  would  meet  these  requirements  better  and  be  more  efficacious, 
while  ointments  that  are  used  as  parasiticides,  such  as  sulphur,  tar 
and  red  oxide  of  mercury,  would  be  more  practical,  less  irritating 
and  more  stable  if  made  up  with  petrolatum. 
(3)  Permanence.  There  are  many  readily  decomposed  chemicals 
like  the  mercurial  salts  that  undergo  decomposition  when  in  contact 
with  unstable  and  readily  decomposed  fats.  With  this  class  of 
chemicals  the  advantage  of  using  an  inert  and  stable  base  is  self- 
apparent. 
Some  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  ago,  when  the  question  of 
using  a  petroleum  compound  was  suggested  to  the  revisers  of  the 
United  States  Pharmacopoeia,  it  was  thought  that  the  supply  of 
petrolatum  was  too  uncertain,  and  too  varied,  and  for  this  reason 
the  Committee  did  not  see  its  way  clear  to  adopt  any  of  the  very 
excellent  formulas  presented  to  it  by  Professor  Remington.  The 
same  objections  do  not  exist  at  the  present  time,  and  have  not 
existed  for  ten  or  twelve  years,  as  upward  of  half  a  dozen  manu- 
facturers are  marketing  a  product  that  is  practically  identical  in 
appearance  and  in  physical  properties. 
Ointments  made  up  according  to  the  appended  formulary  have 
been  in  use  at  the  German  Hospital  for  the  past  ten  years  with 
uniformly  good  results  and  in  constantly  increasing  quantities.  Dur- 
ing the  year  of  1899  there  were  made  in  the  laboratory  of  the 
German  Hospital  312  kilos  of  these  various  ointments. 
I  would  like  to  add  a  few  words  of  comment  or  explanation  of 
some  of  the  formulas. 
