ADeJc0.TiP874RMi  Mercurial  Ointment.  561 
1.  Silica  and  carbon,  0'90  ;  iron,  75*0;  oxide  of  iron,  24-0;  sul- 
phide of  iron,  a  trace. 
2.  Silica  and  carbon,  1-10  ;  iron,  52*0  ;  oxide  of  iron,  46*50 ;  sul- 
phide of  iron,  0*20. 
8.  Carbon  and  sand,  5*30  ;  iron,  58*0  ;  oxide  of  iron,  34-50  ;  sul- 
phide of  iron  2*07. 
4.  Carbon  and  silica,  trace  ;  iron,  99*0 ;  oxide  of  iron,  sulphur, 
sugar  and  loss,  1*0.* 
5.  Porphyrized  iron  of  unknown  origin,  is  with  difficulty  assayed  by 
the  proposed  method:  Carbon  and  silica,  7*10  ;  iron,  70*0  ;  oxidey 
2010;  sulphide,  2-70;  phosphorus  and  loss,  010. 
6.  Carbon  and  silica,  0*80;  iron,  58*70;  oxide,  40  0;  sulphide, 
0.20. 
7.  On  being  dissolved  in  muriatic  acid,  it  evolved  much  gas  of  a 
disagreeable  odor,  containing  carburetted  and  phosphuretted  hydro- 
gen.   Residue,  0*40 ;  iron,  54*0  ;  oxide,  45*0  ;  sulphide,  0-40. 
8.  Carbon  and  silica,  0-02;  iron,  73-0  ;  oxide,  24-0  ;  sulphide,  2-90. 
9.  Carbon  and  sand,  11*59  ;  iron,  32-0;  oxide,  55*20  ;  sulphide, 
1-20. 
The  author  concludes  that  the  reduced  iron  of  commerce  is  not 
carefully  prepared,  and  suggests  that  it  be  replaced  by  other  fer- 
ruginous preparations,  which  the  pharmacist  may  readily  obtain  in  a 
state  of  purity,  which  can  be  assayed  with  exactness,  and  whose  ab- 
sorption is  quite  certain. — Jour,  de  Phar.  et  de  Chim.,  Sept.,  1874,  pp, 
178-181.   
RAPID  PREPARATION  OF  MERCURIAL  OINTMENT. 
By  George  Bayle. 
The  longest  and  the  most  fatiguing  of  all  pharmaceutical  operations 
is  the  extinction  of  mercury  in  preparing  mercurial  ointment.  To 
shorten  the  time  a  great  number  of  processes  have  been  successively 
proposed.  Among  the  most  successful  are  those  by  M.  Le  Boeuf  and 
M.  Pons,  and  that  which  consists  in  extinguishing  the  mercury  in  a 
small  quantity  of  old  mercurial  ointment.  However,  in  practice  these 
*  This  iron  had  been  mechanically  reduced  to  powder,  and  then  inclosed  in 
gelatine  capsules,  to  prevent  oxidation.  Each  capsule  is  represented  to  con- 
tain 0-1  gram  of  iron,  but  by  carefully  weighing  the  contents  of  three  larger  and 
three  smaller  capsules,  the  following  amounts  were  obtained:  0065.  0*061, 
0*040,  0*035,  0  041  and  0'040. 
35 
