514  Amerioan  PharmaceMical  Association.        {^"'  ocT'^isss**^"*" 
7.  The  idea  that  true  oleates  are  formed  only  by  double  decomposition  is- 
absurd ;  just  as  much  of  a  chemical  compound  is  formed,  as  by  mixing  a 
mineral  acid  with  the  base,  or  as  is  formed  by  making  an  oleate  from  oil 
and  a  base,  the  latter  being  the  source  of  the  oleic  acid,  when  the  oleate  is- 
made  by  double  decomposition. 
Pills  of  Potassium  Permanganate,  by  Prof.  E.  L.  Patch,  Boston.  The 
author  has  used  resin  cerate  as  an  excipient,  also  kaolin  with  water  and 
kaolin  with  petroleum.  Critical  experiments  as  to  the  keeping  qualities, 
have  not  been  made,  but  it  is  thought  that  such  pills  should  be  freshly 
made  when  prescribed. 
Mr.  Sloan  said  that  making  such  pills  with  the  requisite  quantity  of  sim- 
ple cerate,  and  keeping  them  for  a  year,  they  will  at  once  show  the  pure 
red  color  of  permanganate  solution  on  the  addition  of  a  drop  of  water. 
Profs.  Remington  and  Markoe  regarded  the  effects  supposed  to  be  due  to- 
this  salt  to  depend  upon  the  manganese  hydrate  which  is  formed  in  con- 
tact with  organic  matter.  Mr.  Fin  lay  used  Venice  turpentine,  and  Prof. 
Painter  employed  wax  as  an  excipient.  Mr.  Klie  regarded  compression  of 
tbe  salt  as  preferable,  which  Prof.  Bedford  suggested  would  act  too  ener- 
getically. 
Pills  of  Silver  Nitrate,  by  Prof.  E.  L.  Patch,  Boston.  Good  excipients 
are  obtained  by  using  lycopodium  and  extract  of  gentian,  French  chalk 
and  resin  cerate  or  kaolin  and  petrolatum.  Mr.  Sloan  cautioned  against 
the  use  of  steel  spatulas  in  making  such  pills. 
Diachylon  Ointment.  Prof.  J.  M.  Good,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  recommends  the- 
following  as  an  improvement  upon  the  officinal  article:  Melt  together  lead 
plaster  50  parts,  petrolatum  49  parts  ;  stir  well  and  add  oil  of  lavender  1 
part. 
Prof.  Patch  susrgests  a  modification  of  Deringer's  formula  (see  ''Am.  Jour^ 
Pilar.,"  1>8(»,  p.  478).  The  precipitated  plaster  is  remelted  and  worked  with 
glycerin  to  replace  the  water  mechanically  retained.  Melt  64  parts  of  this 
plaster,  add  slowly  72  parts  of  best  olive  oil,  and  stir  well  while  cooling, 
incorporating  1  part  of  concentrated  tincture  of  benzoin. 
Caustic  Potassa,  in  sticks.  Prof.  E.  Goebel,  Louisville,  examined  eight 
commercial  samples  which  varied  in  KHO  between  66-3  and  74-4  per  cent.; 
K2CO3  between  6  7  and  15*8  per  cent.;  KCl  between  O'S  and  1-1  per  cent^ 
and  w^ater  between  17-6  and  22-2  per  cent. 
Prof.  E.  L.  Patch  examined  six  samples  in  which  the  variations  were  for 
KHO  between  614  and  81  per  cent.,  and  for  K2CO3  between  2*5  and  8*6  per 
cent.  The  other  impurities,  chlo)  ide,  sulphate,  silica  and  iron  were  exam- 
ined qualitatively. 
Commercial  Black  Antimony,  by  Prof.  R.  B.  Warder,  Lafayette,  Ind. 
Of  nine  samples  purchased  in  Western  cities  not  one  was  genuine ;  hydro- 
chloric acid  dissolved  a  portion  of  each  sample,  usually  with  violent  effer- 
vescence in  the  cold,  but  without  evolution  of  H2S,  and  no  trace  of  anti- 
mony could  be  detected.  Six  samples  procured  in  Boston,  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  were  soluble  in  HCl  (except  a  small  residue)  with  moderate 
evolution  of  H^S  and  yielding  solutions  containing  antiniony. 
Commercial  Tartar  Emetic.  Prof.  Warder  examined  thirteen  samples, 
which  gave  no  indication  of  arsenic  by  Fleitmann's  test,  were  entirely  free 
