66 
Pharmaceutical  Notes. 
("Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     Feb.  1,  1872. 
Take  of  Dry  White  Castile  Soap  (finely  grated),  %'\v. 
Camphor, 
Oil  of  Rosemary,  fl^ss. 
Water,  fl^vj. 
Alcohol,  fl^xxx. 
Put  the  soap  in  a  half-gallon  bottle,  pour  on  a  pint  of  alcohol,  shake 
well,  add  the  water  and  shake  again  till  the  soap  is  dissolved. 
Dissolve  the  camphor  and  oil  in  the  remaining  alcohol,  mix  the 
two  solutions  and  filter. 
From  five  to  ten  minutes  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  solution  of 
the  soap,  and  the  resulting  liniment,  when  finished,  is  beautifully  clear. 
Baltimore,  Jan.,  1872. 
PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTES. 
By  J.  Dondc. 
The  frequent  use  which  is  made  of  gum  water,  and  the  inconveni- 
ences which  its  preparation  for  each  prescription  presents,  induced  mo 
to  prepare  the  following : 
Gum  Syr  up. 
Gum  Arabic,  in  coarse  powder,  2  pounds, 
Rain  Water,  2 J  pounds, 
Simple  Syrup,  6  fluid-pounds. 
Macerate  the  gum  in  the  water,  shaking  it  occasionally,  for  6  or  8 
hours,  until  completely  dissolved  ;  then  strain.  This  gives  3 J  fluid  - 
pounds  of  mucilage.  Concentrate  the  syrup  to  35°  Bme.,  remove 
from  the  fire,  let  it  cool  to  60  or  70°  C,  and  add  the  mucilage.  It 
gives  8  fluid-pounds  of  syrup,  which  contains  one-fourth  part  of  gum.* 
Mixing  1J  fluidounces  of  this  syrup  with  6J  ounces  of  water,  a  per- 
fectly clear  solution  is  obtained  which  contains  3  drachms  of  gum. 
I  ha  ve  prepared  this  syrup  since  the  year  1862. 
The  extract  of  rhatany  is  prescribed  often  in  sweetened  water  or 
with  gum ;  but  its  solution  is  slow  and  incomplete,  often  remaining 
turbid.  To  obviate  these  inconveniences  I  have  prepared  a  syrup 
after  the  following  formula  : 
*  This  syrup  contains  twice  the  amount  of  gum  Arabic  of  the  syrupus  acaciae, 
U.  S. — Ed.  Amer.  Journ.  Pharm. 
