"^"n^ovI's^^s""  I  Preservation  of  Mucilage.  49  5 
this  country  either  Port  or  Sherry  consisting  entirely  of  the  juice  of  the 
grape.  Port  wine  is  stated  to  be  mixed  with  an  equal  bulk  of  elder- 
berry juice  and  a  considerable  portion  of  alcohol  before  leaving  Portu- 
gal. Sherry  and  Madeira  are  openly  imitated,  and  manufactured  out 
of  the  vins  ordinairs  of  Cette  and  Mezes,  in  France,  and  the  parties 
engaged  in  this  industry  feel  so  proud  of  the  abundant  success  of  their 
enterprise,  that  they  even  invited  the  National  Viticultural  Congress 
to  inspect  their  establishments.  On  account  of  the  constant  admix- 
ture and  sophistication  of  these  wines,  it  may  also  prove  necessary,  or 
at  least  highly  advantageous,  to  dismiss  these  from  our  Pharmaco- 
poeia," and  to  substitute  in  lieu  thereof  the  more  reliable  wines  of  the 
Rhine,  the  Vlnum  generosum  album  and  ruhrum^  officinal  in  Germany, 
which  can  be  procured  in  a  pure  and  undiluted  form  without  much  dif- 
ficulty. 
Philadelphia^  October  \%th,  1875. 
PRESERVATION  OF  MUCILAGE  OF  GUM  ARABIC  BY  SALICYLIC 
ACID. 
BY  DAVID  PRESTON,  PH.  G. 
The  value  of  a  means  of  preserving  mucilage  of  gum  arabic  without 
objectionable  additions  has  long  been  felt  and  suggestions  made  for  that 
purpose,  but  none  that  I  have  tried  answer  the  end  so  well  as  salicylic 
acid.  Tolu  water  has  recently  been  used,  but  my  experience  is  that  it 
will  not  keep  more  than  a  week  without  souring.  From  the  sparing 
solubility  of  salicylic  acid,  which  is  about  one  grain  to  the  ounce,  and 
its  harmless  character  when  administered  internally,  little  odor  and  free- 
dom from  color,  it  seems  unobjectionable. 
I  am  in  the  habit  of  making  a  mucilage  for  emulsions  and  general 
use,  of  half  the  "  Pharmacopoeia  "  strength,  and  make  it  as  follows  : 
Gum  Arabic,  in  coarse  grains,       .  .  «  .  .  ^vili 
Saturated  aqueous  solution  Salicylic  Acid,       .  .  .  f^viii 
(The  solution  is  quickly  made  with  boiling  water.) 
Water,        ........  Oiss 
Dissolve  by  trituration  and  strain. 
The  mucilage  made  in  this  manner,  at  the  end  of  a  month,  was 
found  to  be  unchanged. 
By  its  efficacy  in  the  above,  the  use  of  salicylic  acid  is  suggested  in 
the  preservation  of  vegetable  infusions  and  other  aqueous  preparations 
