PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. 119 
water renders it rancid, and is liable to separate from the 
grease. 
I would recommend the following formula as affording 
an ointment which is not liable to such changes if properly 
prepared, viz : 
Take of Oil of Sweet Almonds two fluid ounces, 
Spermaceti, six drachms, 
Glycerin, (sp. gr. 1.15,) four fluid drachms, 
Oil of Roses, two drops. 
Oil of Bergamot, " 
The spermaceti is melted with the aid of a gentle heal. 
The oil is next stirred in so gradually as not to recongeal 
any of the spermaceti. The mixture is then removed from 
the fire and stirred constantly until on cooling it begins to 
thicken, when the glycerin is thoroughly incorporated. 
Lastly, add the oil, and mix them. 
This ointment, intended as a substitute for cold cream, 
was originally prepared for some friends, who liked it so 
much, that after more than two years' use among them, I 
furnished samples of it to some of our physicians, who pre- 
ferred it to theUng.Aqua Rosas for irritated chapped surfaces . 
If made with good materials, it will keep for several months, 
even when subjected to the exposure that ointments usually 
have in the shop. The glycerin does not ordinarily sepa- 
rate like the rose water. 
Nitrate of Mercury or Citrine Ointment. This Oint- 
ment, when prepared according to the officinal directions, is 
a dark brown substance, in consistence usually not much 
firmer than honey, a fact that has induced many pharmaceu- 
tists to resort to other methods, in hope of obtaining a hand- 
somer article. The consequence of this state of things is 
that the preparation varies in composition, consistence and 
appearance ; sometimes containing mercury as proto-nitrate 
sometimes as per nitrate. 
With a view of satisfying myself that an ointment of 
nitrate of mercury uniform in composition, in color, and in 
