482 
Althaea  as  a  Pill  Excipient. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1879. 
bushel  after  two  expressions  is  sixteen  pounds,  or  two  gallons ;  the  first 
expression  yielding  twelve  pounds,  the  second  four  pounds.  Some- 
times a  third  expression  is  resorted  to,  but  this  oil  is  much  colored  and 
the  yield  so  very  small  that  it  hardly  pays  for  the  labor  and  expense 
incurred  ;  the  yield  is  from  one  to  three  pounds. 
The  process  of  purifying  and  clarifying  the  oil  is  accomplished  in 
various  ways,  and  is  the  specialty  of  every  factory.  The  great  point 
in  purification  as  well  as  clarification  to  be  noticed  is  the  fact  not  to 
expose  the  oil  too  long  to  the  air,  as  it  is  then  liable  to  become  rancid. 
The  first  expressed  oil  is  clear  white,  or  rather  colorless,  like  water  ; 
the  color  of  the  second  expression  is  yellowish,  like  syrup  of  squills. 
Castor  oil  is  remarkable  for  its  power  of  mixing,  in  all  proportions, 
with  glacial  acetic  acid  and  with  absolute  alcohol  without  the  aid  of 
any  other  agent.  It  is  soluble  in  four  parts  of  alcohol,  '835  or  '850, 
at  I5°C,  and  mixes  without  turbidity  with  an  equal  weight  of  the 
same  solvent  at  25°C.  Its  specific  gravity  is  '97  to  '98  ;  it  congeals 
at  — 120  to  — I3°C  ,  and  becomes  solid  at  — 40°C. 
The  oil  of  the  first  expression  is  used  for  medicinal  purposes  ;  that 
of  the  second  for  oiling  leather,  lubricating  machinery,  burning  and 
various  other  purposes. 
The  oil-cake  is  either,  by  the  addition  of  animal  matter  and  other 
ingredients,  made  into  manure,  artificial  guano,  or  is  used  for  fuel.  The 
latter  is  the  customary  practice  in  large  oil  mills,  where  a  saving  of 
from  $40  to  $50  a  week  is  effected  thereby. 
THE  VALUE  OF  ALTH/EA  AS  A  PILL  EXCIPIENT. 
By  W.  Wallace  Beitenman,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay  presented  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
The  use  of  althaea  as  an  excipient  was  suggested  from  the  fact  that 
it  contains  a  large  amount  of  mucilage,  and,  in  endeavoring  to  deter- 
mine its  value  as  such,  I  found  it  to  answer  admirably  in  every  respect 
but  one,  which  I  shall  shortly  state. 
The  proportion  of  mucilage  contained  in  good  althaea  is  from.  25  to 
35  per  cent.  This  it  readily  yields  to  boiling  water,  together  with 
about  the  same  amount  of  starch,  some  pectin,  sugar,  etc.,  which  are 
also  present.  Treated  with  cold  water,  the  mucilage,  without  the 
starch,  is  extracted,  the  infusion  becoming  ropy. 
