AmMJa°yi;ri8P76?rm  }  Simple  Cerate.— Extr.  Pruni  Virg.  FL  215 
but  that  if  it  is  old  atid  strongly  acid,  effervescence  will  be  produced 
which,  if  the  ingredients  are  in  considerable  quantity  and  in  a  closed 
bottle,  might  amount  to  an  explosion.  As  to  the  chemical  reaction,  I 
can  offer  no  suggestion. 
SIMPLE  CERATE  AND  OINTMENTS  IN  GENERAL. 
BY  HANS   M.  WILDER. 
The  pharmacopoeia  (and  all  works  on  pharmacy)  tells  us,  after  hav- 
ing melted  and  strained  (if  necessary)  the  cerate,  to  "  stir  constantly 
until  cool." 
This  method  serves  a  good  purpose  for  simple  cerate,  and  may  be 
used  for  nearly  all  ointments. 
For  some  time  past  I  have  been  using  a  method  recommended  to 
me,  years  ago,  by  an  old  apothecary  (and  said  to  be  employed  by  per- 
fumers in  making  pomatum),  which  consists  in  letting  the  melted  mass 
cool  down  undisturbed,  and,  when  perfectly  cold,  with  a  pestle  gradually 
work  your  way  from  the  top  (by  rubbing)  down  and  through  the  mass. 
The  ointment  treated  in  this  way  is  softer,  never  gets  hard  on  its  sur- 
face, and,  as  asserted  by  physicians,  is  more  quickly  absorbed  by  the 
skin  than  when  made  by  "  stirring  constantly  till  cool  which  injunc- 
tion, by  the  way,  seldom  is  complied  with. 
There  will,  of  course,  be  raised  one  great  objection  to  this  method  ; 
with  lots  of  more  than  a  couple  of  pounds  it  becomes  rather  a  hard 
task  to  move  the  pestle  round  at  last. 
EXTRACTUM  PRUNI  VIRGINIANS  FLUIDUM. 
BY  ISAAC  W.  SMITH,  PH.G. 
Having  experienced  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  satisfactory  fluid 
extract  of  wild  cherry  bark,  it  occurred  to  me  that  a  modification  of 
the  officinal  process  might  with  advantage  be  adopted,  to  obviate  the 
difficulty,  and  herewith  I  present  the  following  formula,  which  yields 
an  extract  superior  in  its  sensible  properties  to  that  of  the  "  Pharma- 
copoeia "  : 
Take  of  Wild  cherry  bark,  in  coarse  powder,  .    64  oz.  (troy) 
Water,  ....  2  pints 
Glycerin,       .  .  .  .1  pint 
Alcohol,  95  per  cent.,  .  .  sufficient  quantity 
Sweet  almonds,  blanched,  .  .      8  oz.  (av.) 
