158 
Oleate  of  Mercury  and  Morphia. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     Aprii.  1, 1873. 
prepare  your  material,  and  when  it  is  about  as  cool  as  can  be  and 
pours  readily,  then  fill  your  moulds,  and  in  a  very  few  moments  you 
can  knock  them  out  without  smashing  your  fingers. 
I  never  have  any  trouble  in  getting  them  out,  not  even  when  made 
of  carbolic  acid ;  neither  do  I  ever  add  any  wax  or  spermaceti  to 
harden  them. 
OLEATE  OF  MERCURY  AND  MORPHIA. 
By  Louis  Dohme. 
Read  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Maryland  College  of  Pharmacy. 
Having  occasion  to  prepare  some  oleate  of  mercury,  I  met  with  the 
aame  difficulty  complained  of  by  several  colleagues — that  of  being  un- 
able to  procure  a  pure  oleic  acid,  which  it  is  asserted  dissolves  both 
the  red  and  yellow  varieties  of  oxide  of  mercury  without  difficulty, 
and  without  causing  the  reduction  of  the  oxide  and  consequent  pre- 
cipitation of  the  metallic  mercury.  Specimens  of  commercial  oleic 
acid  obtained  from  different  sources  were  all  of  a  more  or  less  brown- 
ish red  color,  owing  to  oxidation  of  the  oleic  acid,  and  contaminated 
with  stearic  and  probably  palmitic  acids.  The  latter  acids  were  sepa- 
rated to  a  considerable  extent  by  exposing  the  acid  to  a  temperature 
of  40°  F.,  and  expressing  the  liquid  portion  as  directed  by  Mr.  Charles 
Rice,  in  the  January  number  of  the  Amer.  Journ.  Pharmacy.  In 
attempting  to  prepare  the  oleate  of  mercury,  I  also  followed  the  di- 
rections given  in  the  above  article,  but  I  found  considerable  difficulty 
in  effecting  the  solution,  the  oxide  dissolving  very  slowly,  and  sepa- 
ration of  metallic  mercury  occurring  even  when  the  temperature  was 
carefully  kept  below  175°  F.  This  induced  me  to  make  some  expe- 
riments on  the  subject,  which  finally  lead  to  the  preparation  of  the 
oleate  of  mercury  by  double  decomposition  between  oleate  of  potas- 
sium and  nitrate  of  mercury. 
Preparing  one  pound  (7000  grains)  of  oleate  of  mercury,  contain- 
ing five  per  cent,  of  the  red  oxide  (this  being  the  strength  specified  in 
our  order),  the  following  process  and  quantities  were  found  to  yield 
the  most  satisfactory  results. 
E.  A.  Alden. 
Red  oxide  of  mercury, 
350  grains. 
Nitric  acid,  42° 
Caustic  potassa, 
Oleic  acid, 
335  " 
220  " 
1112  " 
Diluted  alcohol, 
4  fluid  ounces. 
