252  GLYCERINE  A  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  OILS,  ETC.  IN  OINTMENTS. 
GLYCERINE  A  PROPOSED  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  OILS  AND 
FATS  IN  OINTMENTS. 
By  G.  F.  Schaoht. 
The  exhibition  of  cerates  and  ointments  to  diseased  and  ten- 
der surfaces,  however  necessary  and  beneficial  at  times,  is  always 
attended  with  certain  inconveniences,  resulting  from  some  of 
their  essential  properties. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  insolubility  in  water  of 
the  fatty  matter  which  constitutes  the  mass  of  their  substance, 
inasmuch  as  when  the  application  has  to  be  removed,  the  opera- 
tion can  only  be  accomplished  either  by  considerable  mechanical 
force  or  by  the  employment  of  soap,  both  of  which  methods  it 
would  generally  be  highly  desirable,  if  possible,  to  avoid. 
A  second  inconvenience  presents  itself  in  the  fact  that  most 
of  the  remedies  applied  in  this  form  are  insoluble  in  fat.  The 
excipient,  therefore,  in  such  cases,  instead  of  facilitating  the 
cure,  acts  to  a  certain  extent  in  defending  the  part  from  the  per- 
fect action  of  the  remedy. 
But  perhaps  the  strongest  objection  against  the  employment 
of  fatty  substances  in  skin  diseases  exists  in  the  liability  they 
possess  of  becoming  rancid  by  oxidation — a  property  I  believe 
to  be  inherent  and  unavoidable. 
These  considerations  constitute,  I  think,  sufficient  justification 
for  urging  the  trial  of  some  more  satisfactory  excipient ;  and  I 
hope,  in  the  intrinsic  claims  to  interest  which  the  subject  pre- 
sents, sufficient  excuse  will  appear  for  a  notice  which  I  confess 
to  be  far  from  complete. 
A  few  months  ago  I  was  requested  by  Dr.  William  Budd,  of 
this  city,  to  contrive  a  formula  of  glycerine  and  starch  (already, 
as  he  understood,  employed  in  France),  that  should  be  applicable 
as  a  basis  for  this  class  of  preparations.  I  have  that  gentleman's 
permission  to  say  that  the  result  of  my  experiments  is  highly 
satisfactory.  The  article  produced  presents  the  following  for- 
tunate aggregate  of  properties: — Its  consistence  is  good,  and 
does  not  vary  with  changes  of  temperature ;  it  is  soluble  in  water, 
and  may  consequently  be  removed  from  tender  surfaces  with  the 
greatest  ease  ;  it  dissolves  and  thoroughly  mingles  with  all  material 
that  are  soluble  in  water,  and  therefore  presents  such  remedies 
