568 
ON  ARNICA  CERATE. 
For  domestic  use,  soluble  glass  has  been  recommended  as  a 
substitute  for  soap,  and  woollen,  silk,  cotton,  linen  and  leather 
fabrics,  (kid  gloves,  &c.)  are  cleansed  much  easier  and  better 
than  by  soap  ;  it  is  cheaper,  and  goes  further  than  the  latter.  On 
washing  with  the  glass,  hard  or  soft  water  may  be  used,  cold  or 
luke-warm.  Only  very  dirty  and  starched  cotton  or  linen  clothes 
must  afterwards  be  rinsed  in  hot  water.  Soluble  glass  lessens 
the  work  and  saves  fuel,  it  preserves  all  colors,  with  probably 
the  single  exception  of  bleu  de  France,  which  is  likewise  de- 
stroyed by  soap.  For  100  lbs.  of  water,  but  1  lb.  of  soluble 
glass  is  necessary  in  all  cases,  save  for  the  washing  of  raw  wool 
which  may  sometimes  require  as  much  as  4  lbs.  It  has  been  in- 
troduced into  a  number  of  the  largest  factories  in  Europe. 
J.  M.  M. 
ON  ARNICA  CERATE; 
Br  N.  Hynson  Jennings. 
Having  observed  the  favorable  results  from  the  use  of  the 
Tincture  of  Arnica,  and  being  desirous  to  prove  its  efficacy  in 
some  cases  where  the  fluid  preparation  was  ineligible,  I  concluded 
to  prepare  it  in  the  form  of  a  plaster  or  hard  cerate, 
I  have  found  it  to  afford  great  relief  in  tenderness  of  the  feet 
produced  by  intense  cold  or  tight  boots.  Combined  with  Melli- 
lot  Plaster  in  equal  parts,  it  has  been  prescribed  by  one  of  our 
well  known  physicians  with  decided  success.  The  following  is 
the  formula  I  propose : — 
Take  of  Arnica  Flowers,  ...       4  ounces, 
Olive  Oil,       -  6  « 
Beeswax,  10  <« 
Diluted  Alcohol       -       a  sufficient  quantity, 
Sulph.  Ether,  *     "  " 
Having  reduced  the  flowers  to  a  tolerably  fine  powder,  moisten 
with  diluted  alcohol  and  pack  firmly  in  a  glass  funnel ;  exhaust, 
and,  by  means  of  a  water  bath,  evaporate  to  about  five  fluid 
ounces,  and  mix  with  the  oil  and  wax,  previously  heated  together; 
then  boil  over  a  slow  fire  till  all  moisture  is  dissipated,  and  lastly 
strain.  A  little  ether  is  required  to  dissolve  the  resin  deposited 
on  the  sides  of  the  porcelain  dish. — Journ.  Trans,  of  the  Mary- 
land College  of  Pharmacy,  Sept.,  1858. 
