146  Note  on  Amylo-Nitrous  Ether. 
macerate  for  twentj-four  hours  with  frequent  agitation,  pass  through 
a  filter,  to  the  filtrate  add  oL  ricini,  and  shake  until  dissolved  ;  then 
transfer  to  a  shallow  vessel  in  order  to  allow  the  ether  to  evaporate 
spontaneously ;  lastly,  when  the  ether  has  entirely  disappeared,  place 
in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle  ready  for  use.  With  a  view  to  economy  I  ex- 
perimented with  alcohol  and  benzine  as  solvents  ;  the  former  of  the 
specific  gravity  -817  gave  moderate  satisfaction,  the  result  being  of  a 
much  darker  color,  owing  to  the  foreign  matter  in  the  benzoin  being 
more  soluble  in  alcohol  than  in  ether  ;  this  I  considered  a  serious  ob- 
jection, as  it  discolored  the  ointment  considerably,  while  that  made 
with  the  ether  did  not,  at  least  not  more  than  if  it  were  benzoated  by 
the  officinal  process.  The  benzine  experiment,  however,  was  a  com- 
plete failure,  it  extracting  from  the  benzoin  only  a  very  small  amount 
of  benzoic  acid,  leaving  entirely  undissolved  the  resin,  cinnamic  acid, 
and  volatile  oil.  The  result  from  the  formula  that  I  have  given  is 
of  the  consistency  of  a  soft  extract,  one  ounce  of  the  extract  fully 
representing  an  ounce  of  the  benzoin  in  a  state  that  is  perfectly  mis- 
cible  with  unctuous  substances.  I  benzoated  several  ointments  with 
this  extract  in  the  early  part  of  last  April,  and  allowed  them  the 
greater  portion  of  the  time  to  be  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  and 
when  I  examined  them  in  the  fall  I  could  find  none  of  them  oxidized 
in  the  least,  and  in  the  case  of  ung.  hydr.  oxidi  rubri  the  bright 
orange  color  was  perfectly  preserved.  I  also  used  it  in  several  pre- 
scriptions and  it  always  gave  perfect  satisfaction.  I  used  it  in  the 
proportion  of  half  dram  to  the  ounce  of  ointment  ;  it  can  also  be  used 
very  advantageously  in  preparations  for  the  hair,  it  being  very  solu- 
ble in  alcohol  and  perfectly  miscible  with  ol.  ricini  in  combination 
with  alcohol,  but  insoluble  in  the  fixed  and  volatile  oils  in  a  free  state. 
It  is  also  freely  soluble  in  chloroform. 
NOTE  ON  AMYLO-NITROUS  ETHER. 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
Mr.  C.  Umney*  has  recently  examined  three  specimens  of  nitrite 
of  amyl  as  met  with  in  the  English  market,  and  found  them  all  to  be 
impure,  one  containing  in  fact  very  little  of  the  true  nitrite.  This 
new  remedial  agent  has  also  attracted  some  attention  in  this  country ; 
to  what  extent  it  is  made  here  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining,  nor 
Pharm.  Journ.  and  Transactions,  Nov.,  1870,  p.  422, 
