i40 
Pharmaceutical  Notes, 
Vin    Jour.  Pham 
Nov.,  1880. 
PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTES. 
By  R.  F.  Fairthorne,  Ph.G. 
Ointment  of  Oxide  of  Zinc,  —  A  very  smooth  ointment  can  be  made 
from  the  ingredients  composing  the  officinal  oxide  of  zinc  ointment,  if 
the  oxide  is  first  triturated  and  mixed  with  glycerin  in  a  mortar,  and 
after  rubbing  sufficiently  long  to  produce  a  uniform  mixture  of  the 
consistence  of  syrup  it  is  incorporated  with  the  lard.  This  will  pro- 
duce an  ointment  that  is  of  satisfactory  appearance,  and  does  not 
become  rancid  ;  at  least  some  of  it  made  a  month  ago  has  not  under- 
gone any  change,  though  exposed  to  the  air  and  summer  heat  during 
part  of  that  time.  In  connection  with  this  subject,  I  would  state  that 
during  that  time  of  the  year  in  which  the  thermometer  indicates  a  tem- 
perature varying  from  75°  to  95°  Fahrenheit  the  consistence  of  the 
officinal  ointment  is  too  thin  for  convenience  of  application  in  many 
cases,  and  by  request  of  patients  and  physicians,  I  have  frequently 
improved  its  condition  by  the  addition  of  40  grains  of  white  wax  to 
each  ounce  of  the  salve,  and  deducting  that  amount  from  the  weight 
of  the  lard  used.  Another  method,  which  has  been  successfully 
employed  by  Mr.  Jas.  T.  Shinn,  is  to  melt  the  lard  and  pass  the 
oxide  through  a  sieve,  allowing  it  to  fall  into  it,  stirring  the  mixture  at 
the  same  time,  and  until  cold  or  hard  enough  to  prevent  separation. 
It  is,  perhaps,  almost  unnecessary  to  add  that  there  is  an  advantage  in 
employing  lard  that  has  been  benzoated. 
Making  Soap  by  Cold  Process. — A  good  hard  soap  can  be  easily  pro- 
duced if  4  pounds  of  olive  or  sweet  almond  oil  are  mixed  with  2  pounds 
of  soda  ley,  of  the  strength  36°  Baum^,  and  stirred  until  of  the  con- 
sistence of  thick  paste,  when  it  should  be  poured  into  moulds,  covered 
by  several  folds  of  muslin,  and  kept  in  a  warm  room  for  20  hours.  By 
this  treatment  the  process  of  saponification,  or  union  of  the  acids  in 
the  oils  with  the  alkali,  is  complete.  When  these  materials  are  first 
mixed  the  temperature  of  the  mass  rises,  and  in  order  to  effect  the 
entire  union  of  ingredients  so  as  to  form  the  compound  called  soap  it 
is  necessary  that  the  heat  thus  generated  should  be  maintained  for  some 
time,  hence  the  necessity  for  covering  the  moulds  and  keeping  them  in 
a  warm  room. 
[  have  found  that  it  is  desirable  to  use  oil  that  is  slightly  rancid,  or, 
if  free  from  rancidity,  to  add  about  10  per  cent,  of  oil  that  has  become 
so.     Oil  that  is  perfectly  sweet  requires  two  or  three  days  to  effect 
