AmDec.?if9h3arm-}  Revision  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia.  $99 
rancid  cotton-seed  oil,  paraffin  oil,  lard  oil,  linseed  oil  and  the  new 
Pharmacopoeia  proposes  cotton-seed  oil  with  the  addition  of  some 
alcohol.  The  change  to  cotton-seed  oil  has  been  excused  by  the 
statement  that  pure  olive  oil  was  not  obtainable.  This  argument, 
if  valid,  would  require  the  substitution  of  cotton-seed  oil  soap  for  the 
official  soap  and  the  use  of  cotton -seed  oil  in  lead  plaster  and  other 
official  preparations.  At  no  time  within  the  last  1 5  years  has  it 
been  difficult  to  obtain  either  in  Philadelphia  or  New  York  olive  oil 
of  such  purity  and  at  moderate  prices  yielding  satisfactory  pharma- 
ceutical preparations.  The  formula  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  1870 
for  volatile  liniment  has  not  been  improved  upon,  and  should  have 
been  reinstated  in  the  revision  of  1890. 
In  Soap  Liniment,  the  soap  is  directed  to  be  in  fine  powder  ;  as  the 
official  soap  is  in  lump  and  containing  considerable  water  (not  over 
36  per  cent.  U.  S.  P.)  I  presume  this  is  soap  which  has  been  dried- 
If  so,  the  formula  should  read  "  Soap  previously  dried  at  a  tem- 
perature not  exceeding  (ioo°  C.  ?),and  reduced  to  a  fine  powder 
70  gm." 
Ground  Flaxseed,  if  pure  and  recently  prepared,  will  yield  32  to 
35  per  cent,  of  fixed  oil, yet  the  official  requirements  are  only  25 
per  cent.,  which  would  admit  of  considerable  adulteration. 
In  the  formula  now  adopted  for  Basham's  mixture,  glycerin  is  used 
in  place  of  the  syrup.  The  iron  strength  still  remains  at  2  per  cent, 
of  tincture  by  volume — too  weak.  The  original  formula  for  this 
preparation  contained  a  little  over  6  per  cent,  by  volume. 
In  the  Solution  of  Magnesium  Citrate,  the  water  should  be  directed 
to  be  boiled  and  used,  while  hot ;  this  renders  the  solution  more 
permanent,  probably  by  destroying  fungus  spores.  The  amount  of 
syrup  directed  in  this  preparation,  120  cc,  is  entirely  too  much,  6c 
cc.  would  be  sufficient. 
In  Solution  of  Chlorinated  Soda  a  decided  excess  of  sodium  car- 
bonate is  directed  rendering  the  finished  product  distinctly  alkaline, 
as  it  should  be. 
In  Liquor  Ammonii  Acetatis  the  second  process  of  the  previous 
Pharmacopoeias,  in  which  the  ammonium  carbonate  and  acetic  acid 
were  prepared  in  separate  solutions  and  these  mixed  at  the  time 
needed,  has  been  discarded.  By  many  practical  pharmacists  this  is 
deemed  the  better  of  the  two  processes.  The  term  "  spirit  of  min- 
dererus,"  has  become  obsolete  and  is  so  inaccurate  a  name,  according 
