Aljanw>fi9oim'}         Note  011  Benzoinated  Lard.  29 
presence  of  resinous  matter  and  other  inert  materials.  It  can,  how- 
ever, be  accomplished  with  extreme  accuracy  if  the  operator  will 
work  patiently  with  the  alkaline  extractions  as  directed. 
These  chloroform  solutions  of  the  alkaloid  are  now  mixed,  evapor- 
ated down  and  titrated  exactly  as  described  above  in  the  assay  of 
the  root. 
J.  Ellwood  Lee  Company  Laboratory. 
NOTE  ON  BENZOINATED  LARD. 
By  Me^vin  W.  Bamford. 
Having  recently  had  considerable  trouble  with  benzoinated  lard 
made  from  commercial  lard  because  of  the  impurities  in  it,  the 
writer  visited  a  pork-packing  establishment  in  order  to  obtain  some 
information  on  the  subject,  and  while  there  secured  a  quantity  of 
what  is  known  to  the  trade  as  "  Pure  Leaf  Lard,"  which  really  is 
the  leaf  fat  as  it  is  obtained  from  the  hog. 
From  this  fat  there  was  made  a  quantity  of  lard  by  the  process 
recommended  by  Professor  Redwood,  and  adopted  by  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia.  After  removing  as  much  of  the  membrane  and 
tissue  as  possible,  the  fat  is  simply  heated  at  a  temperature  not 
exceeding  1500  F.,  and  as  the  lard  separates  from  the  membrane,  it 
is  strained  through  flannel  into  another  vessel.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  there  is  no  water  used  in  the  process,  the  advantage  being 
that  the  lard  thus  made  contains  absolutely  no  water. 
This  lard  was  then  benzoinated  by  the  United  States  Pharmaco- 
pceial  process,  and  the  resultant  product  was  found  to  be  perfectly 
sweet  and  smooth,  and  to  have  an  agreeable  odor  of  vanilla. 
The  actual  cost  of  the  preparation,  making  an  allowance  of  10 
per  cent,  for  waste  and  20  per  cent,  for  labor,  is  about  12*4  cents  a 
pound.  There  are  several  makes  of  benzoinated  lard  on  the  market 
which  are  fully  as  good  as  this  product;  but  the  cost  of  these  is 
from  20  to  25  cents  a  pound,  so  that  the  saving  should  be  sufficient 
inducement  to  the  pharmacist  to  make  it  himself.  In  addition  to 
this*  he  will  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  has  an  abso- 
lutely pure  preparation. 
