Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
December,  1911.  j 
Liquor  Magnesii  Citratis. 
565 
I  next  used  the  same  process,  but  substituted  the  required  amount 
of  sugar,  thinking  that  the  fungus  was  in  the  prepared  syrup.  The 
results,  however,  were  practically  the  same  as  before. 
Later,  I  dissolved  the  acid  in  a  small  amount  of  water  at  a  boiling 
temperature,  added  the  magnesium  carbonate  and  oil  of  lemon. 
After  the  reaction  was  completed  the  syrup  was  added  and  then  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  sterile  water.  The  product  was  then  heated  to 
boiling  and  filtered.  The  bottles  were  previously  prepared  by  boil- 
ing in  a  solution  of  sodium  carbonate  and  thoroughly  rinsed.  These 
were  then  filled  with  the  warm  solution  of  citrate  of  magnesia. 
This  product  lasted  nearly  three  days,  but  at  the  end  of  that  period 
the  fungus  started  to  form  just  the  same. 
Next  I  tried  adding  a  small  amount  of  purified  talcum,  using  the 
same  process  as  the  last  mentioned.  The  product  remained  in  good 
shape  for  nearly  two  weeks  and  it  seemed  that  this  would  be  the 
proper  method,  but  precipitation  began  in  that  time  and  now  after 
ten  months  you  can  see  the  results. 
The  next  effort  was  to  find  out  if  the  oil  of  lemon,  which  hereto- 
fore I  had  used  directly  was  at  fault.  To  get  away  from  that,  I 
made  a  flavoring  tincture  with  enough  alcohol  to  act  as  a  pre- 
servative, but  while  this  improved  the  flavor,  it  did  not  improve  the 
keeping  qualities. 
The  next  effort  was  the  one  which  seems  so  far  to  have  been 
successful.  The  acid  was  dissolved  in  a  small  amount  of  hot  water, 
then — previously  mixed — the  magnesia  carbonate,  sugar,  purified 
talc,  and  flavoring  tincture  were  added.  When  the  reaction  is 
completed  add  sufficient  water  and  filter.  The  bottles  were  filled 
and  closed.  Then  placed  in  an  ordinary  wash  boiler,  covered  with 
water  and  boiled  for  about  30  minutes.  Here  is  a  sample  treated 
in  that  manner,  which  has  been  on  my  shelf  with  no  precautions  as 
to  care  for  five  months,  and  yet  it  is  as  clear  and  effective  as  the  day 
it  was  made. 
I  have  also  tried  several  sterilizations  at  24-hour  intervals,  of 
the  same  lot,  but  find  that  one  sterilization  does  the  work  as  well  as 
two  or  three,  as  can  be  seen  by  these  samples  which  are  plainly 
marked. 
The  excessive  color  I  find  is  due  to  the  frequency  and  the  length 
of  the  sterilizations.  This  sample  here  is  one  taken  from  the  regular 
stock,  which  is  ready  to  have  the  potassium  bicarbonate  added  and 
