200 
Wine  of  Tar. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
t       May,  1875. 
whenever  there  is  any  doubt.  In  order  to  avoid  occasional  annoying 
errors,  pharmacists  may  find  it  advantageous,  in  ordering,  to  indicate 
definitely  which  variety  they  desire,  and  to  label  their  packages  accord- 
ingly. If  the  full  botanical  names  are  found  to  be  too  unwieldly  for 
daily  use,  the  two  drugs  may  be  neatly  and  conveniently  distinguished 
by  the  adjectives,  European  and  American. 
Philadelphia,  April  i()th,  1875. 
WINE  OF  TAR. 
BY  J.  B.  MOORE. 
[Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  April  10th.) 
The  formula  usually  employed  by  pharmacists  in  making  wine  of  tar 
is  that  recommended  by  the  late  Prof.  Procter  ("  U.  S.  Dispensatoty," 
edition  1870,  page  680),  which,  as  is  well  known  to  all,  is  a  very  troub- 
lesome and  rather  complicated  process,  while  it  affords  a  very  unreliable 
product,  being  feeble  in  tar  strength  and  very  unsightly  in  appearance. 
The  copious  mucilaginous  deposit  which  takes  place  in  the  prepara- 
tion on  standing,  when  made  by  that  process,  appears  to  carry  with  it 
almost  all  the  virtues  of  the  tar  which  it  may  have  contained  when 
freshly  made,  and  lea\^es  the  supernatant  liquid  of  little  more  than  the 
strength  of  ordinary  tar-water.  This  process  of  depletion ,.  seems  to 
continue  almost  indefinitely. 
Now,  as  the  wine  of  tar  still  sustains  its  popularity  with  the  medical 
profession,  which  renders  it  necessary  for  almost  every  pharmacist  to 
keep  it  in  stock,  it  is  important  that  there  should  be  a  good  and  easy- 
working  formula  for  its  preparation,  devoid  of  the  faults  just  alluded  to 
as  adhering  to  the  one  commonly  employed,  so  that  every  pharmacist 
may  make  it,  of  reliable  quality,  for  himself.  Besides,  owing  to  the 
trouble  attending  its  manufacture  by  the  old  formula,  there  are,  as  far 
as  I  can  learn,  but  very  few  retail  pharmacists  who  make  it  for  them- 
selves ;  they  rely  almost  exclusively  upon  the  wholesale  manufacturers 
for  their  supply,  and  of  course  are  liable  to  get  a  very  indifferent  article. 
For  these  reasons,  I  have  been  led,  by  experiment,  to  adopt  an  entirely 
new  process  for  making  this  preparation,-  a  process  which  obviates  the 
objections  attached  to  the  old  method,  being  much  less  troublesome, 
while  it  affords  a  more  efficient  and  satisfactory  preparation  in  every 
respect.    The  formula  is  as  follows  : 
