Am.  Jour.  Pharm . ) 
Feb.,  1885.  j 
Spiritus  Ammonice  AromaticuSy 
79 
SPIRITUS  AMMONIA  AROMATICUS. 
By  Andrew  Blair. 
Bead  at  the  Pharmacetitical  Meeting,  January  20,  1885. 
It  is  a  very  important  matter  that  all  preparations,  especially  of  a 
medicinal  nature,  should  be,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  make  them,  per- 
manent in  appearance,  taste,  smell  and  activity.    About  a  year  ago, 
the  attention  of  the  writer  was  called  to  a  lot  of  aromatic  spirit  of  ammo- 
nia, of  which  complaint  had  been  made  on  account  of  its  deep  red  or 
brown  color.    This  was  very  marked,  and  so  much  so  as  to  induce  an 
examination  of  the  cause. 
If  we  look  at  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  1870,  we  find  the  following 
formula : 
R    Carbonate  of  ammonium  
Water  of  ammonia   f^iii 
Oil  of  lemon   f^iiss 
Oil  of  nutmeg   irixl 
Oil  of  lavender   rrixv 
Alcohol   Oiss 
Water,  q.  s.  ft   Oii 
This  preparation  has  been  satisfactory,  and  no  occasion  to  modify, 
improve  or  alter  it  has  ever  existed,  that  the  writer  is  aware  of.  It  is 
permanent  in  its  color  to  a  marked  degree,  the  change  in  18  months 
being  so  slight  it  is  hardly  worth  noticing.    (See  sample  No.  1.) 
Let  us  now  look  at  the  formula  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  1880,  and 
we  find  it  contains : 
R    Carbonate  of  ammonium   40  parts. 
Water  of  ammonia   100  " 
Oil  of  lemon   12  " 
Oil  of  lavender   1  *' 
Oil  of  pimenta   1  " 
Alcohol,  recently  distilled  and  kept  in  glass 
vessels   700  " 
Distilled  water,  q.  s.  ft   1,000  " 
(See  sample  No.  2,  which  changed  to  its  present  color  about  a  month 
after  it  was  made.) 
In  the  main  it  is  like  the  formula  of  1870,  the  only  difference  being 
in  one  of  the  flavoring  constituents.  Investigation  determined  that 
this  trifling  change  was  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  Why  such  an  altera- 
tion to  a  formula  that  has  been  satisfactory  for  10  years  or  more  it  is 
