572  Pkarmaceutical  Notes.  { ji^isS"''*^' 
JVine  of  Tar. — As  usually  made,  wine  of  tar  is  an  unsightly,  unsta- 
ble and  unpalatable  article,  but  as  prepared  by  the  following  receipt  will 
be  found  free  from  these  objections: 
Take  of    Tar,    .  .  .  .4  troyounces 
Granulated  sugar,       .  .  5  troyounces 
California  sherry,  .  .  pints 
Water,  sufficient  quantity  to  make  2  pints 
Sand,  washed  and  dried,  .  8  ounces 
Rub  the  tar  with  the  sugar  and  sand  in  a  mortar,  then  with  the  wine 
and  water.  Pour  into  a  bottle  all  the  ingredients  and  agitate  occasion- 
ally for  4  or  5  days.  Filter  with  paper  pulp,  when  a  fine  clear  wine 
will  result,  highly  impregnated  with  the  tar,  which  will  keep  without 
undergoing  acetous  fermentation.  By  employing  the  California  wine 
and  water  a  preparation  results  that  does  not  contain  much  more  alco- 
hol than  would  be  the  case  if  made  by  the  ordinary  plan.  The  employ- 
ment of  sand  is  on  account  of  the  mechanical  division  it  effects. 
How  to  Disguise  a  dose  of  Castor  Oil. — It  frequently  happens  that  the 
druggist  is  asked  to  mix  a  dose  of  castor  oil  for  a  customer  who  is  not 
able  to  come  to  the  store,  and  as  the  common  custom  for  disguising, 
it  is  to  mix  it  with  soda  water  and  sarsaprilla  syrup,  it  not  unfrequently 
happens  that  before  the  dose  thus  mixed  reaches  the  unfortunate  indi- 
vidual for  whom  it  was  ordered  nearly  all  the  froth  (on  which  the  dis^ 
guising  effect  of  the  mixture  depends)  has  disappeared,  and  a  nauseous- 
^'floating  island"  of  oil  meets  the  lips  of  the  patient,  disgusting  still 
more  his  already  nauseated  stomach.  Now,  in  order  to  obviate  such  a 
difficulty,  1  have  found  the  following  simple  device  to  answer.  The 
oil  IS  poured  on  the  top  of  the  following  mixture,  namely: 
Syrup  of  orange  peel,         .  .  .  f^i 
Syrup  of  gum  arabic,  .  .  .  f5ss 
Caramel,  ....  f^i 
Tartaric  acid,  .  .  .  xxv  grains 
Water,  ....  f5iv 
M. 
Having  dissolved  the  acid  in  the  water  add  the  syrups  and  caramel* 
and  stir  them  up;  then  pour  the  oil  on  the  top  of  this  mixture.  Wrap 
up  30  grains  of  bicarbonate  of  soda  in  a  paper,  which  can  be  marked 
effervescing  powder.  When  the  patient  is  to  take  the  dose  the  soda 
powder  is  added  and  well  stirred,  producing  a  thick  froth  which  com- 
pletely envelops  the  oil. 
Mr.  T.  S.  Wiegand  states  that  he  has  found  that  by  adding  half  a 
fluidrachm  of  the  tincture  of  hops  to  ihe  dose  of  oil  as  commonly 
mixed,  namely,  with  soda  water  and  sarsaparilla,  that  the  froth  of  the 
mixture  will  remain  for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  long  enough  in. 
most  instances  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  case. 
