104 
PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTICES. 
With  Ground  Nut  Oil,  (Arachis  hypogea),  the  result  was 
good,  as  the  ointment  kept  its  golden  color  and  soft  consistence 
perfectly,  and  altogether  appeared  to  be  a  stable  preparation. 
With  Oil  of  Sweet  Almonds,  the  reaction,  even  at  a  high 
temperature,  was  slow,  although  the  ointment  resulting  is  of  a 
light  color  and  good  body. 
The  ointment  from  Palm  Oil  was  rather  friable,  though  per- 
manent in  color.  The  peculiar  odor  of  the  oil  was  retained  to 
some  degree. 
I  lastly  tried  what  results  would  take  place  when  Butter 
was  used.  Having  removed  the  salt  by  repeated  washings, 
I  treated  it  as  before.  The  reaction,  even  at  the  tempera- 
ture of  200°,  was  very  slow,  and  the  gas  was  evolved  with  little 
force,  although  the  vapor  filled  the  room.  The  ointment  result- 
ing was  of  a  light  yellow  color,  and  of  soft  and  unctuous  consist- 
ence, and  was  altogether  the  most  satisfactory  one  of  the  whole 
series.  At  the  end  of  a  month,  its  texture  was  unaltered,  while 
some  of  the  officinal,  made  at  the  same  time,  had  changed  in 
color,  and  assumed  a  mottled  appearance.  I  made  use  of  the 
following  proportions  in  preparing  it. 
r    Butter,  fresh,  gxii. 
Mercury,  |i. 
Nitric  acid,  Ixiv« 
Treat  them  as  directed  in  the  officinal  process. 
By  these  experiments  it  will  be  seen  that  ground-nut  oil  and 
butter  would  answer  best  as  substitutes.  The  butter  especially, 
I  am  confident,  only  needs  to  be  tried  to  be  appreciated ;  for 
the  result,  to  me  at  least,  was  eminently  satisfactory. 
Honey  of  Moses — This  preparation,  as  now  made,  invariably 
ferments  after  a  short  time.  To  remedy  this  I  have  used  gly- 
cerin in  place  of  part  of  the  honey,  and  with  good  success.  By 
using  eighteen  instead  of  twenty  ounces  of  honey,  as  directed, 
evaporating  down  to  fourteen  ounces  instead  of  a  pint,  and  add- 
ing two  ounces  of  glycerin,  and  then  straining,  the  preparation 
will  keep  for  a  long  time.  It  might  be  of  advantage,  perhaps, 
to  use  more  glycerin  than  this,  though  I  have  found  two  ounces 
to  answer  very  well, 
Jersey  City  N.  J.,  Jan.  27th,  1858, 
