Melt the cocoanut oil in a porcelain or enameled iron vessel; dissolve the potassium hydrate in eight fluidounces of distilled water, and add gradually with constant stirring to the hot oil. Continue the heat and stirring until saponification is complete. (Use a wooden spoon, or a piece of thin pine.) The end comes suddenly, a thick, jelly-like mass forming; have ready to use at this point the potassium carbonate dissolved in four fluidounces of water, add it to the soap, continue a gentle heat, stir until the paste or jelly is uniformly smooth and creamy, incorporate the oils and allow to cool, when it is ready for use. If a tar shampoo is desired, add one fluidrachm of oil of tar instead of the perfume. Headache Powders; Liquid Corn Cure. "A Subscriber."-You will find on page 393, September issue of the BULLETIN, a formula for a headache powder contributed by Mr. Cunningham and used by him with success. We think the formula a good one-much better than the one you submit. In You should have a ten-cent and a twenty-fivecent package, the former an envelope, and the latter a box. Be careful not to use the word "harmless" in getting out your labels or circulars. No headache cure is always free from danger! There seems to be some difference of opinion as to the physiological action of the headache remedies, but it would appear that they either congest the blood, lessening the pressure on the brain, or exert some deadening effect on the nerves of sensation. either case, depressing the heart, the return of the venous blood from the extremities is retarded, and serious and even fatal results sometimes follow. In such cases if the label bears the word "harmless," there is a good peg to hang a damage suit on; better have a caution notice about taking the powders too often! The second powder may be taken in twenty to thirty minutes, but after that an hour or even three hours had better elapse before the dose is repeated. Alcohol, enough to make..... Triturate the chloral hydrate and menthol together to form a clear liquid, then add the oil of cloves and the alcohol. The product may be applied to the tooth on a small piece of cotton, or it may be rubbed on the gums with the finger. The tincture probably owes its efficiency largely to the fact that the chloral, in contact with the alkaline blood within the gums, is decomposed, causing the liberation of chloroform. QUERIES. Information is given in this department under the following conditions only: (1) No queries are answered by mail; (2) queries must reach us before the 21st of the month to be answered in the BULLETIN of the month following; (3) inquirers must in every instance be regular subscribers; and (4) names and addresses must be affixed to all communications. The Purification of Lard. G. D. R.—Lard is usually purified by melting it on a water-bath and straining it first through linen and then through paper in a warm closet. Lard may be rendered quite inodorous by melting it, when fresh, by means of a salt water bath, adding a little alum or common salt, continuing the heat until a scum rises, skimming this off, and, after the lard has concreted, separating the saline matter by washing thoroughly with water. Quicklime is sometimes used to render it whiter, but this unfits it for medicinal employment. Lard which has a light olive brown color is quite likely to be adulterated with cotton-seed oil. Even one per cent of sophistication will cause a distinctly perceptible change. The ingredients must be pulverized and sifted separately, dried at a very low temperature, mixed Mr. Parker speaks very highly of this formula; with great pressure into receptacles and sealed airin a perfectly dry room, and immediately packed he says WHITE LINIMENT. tight, to prevent, as nearly as possible, the loss of ammonia. A Formulary for Druggists' Use. J. J. Q.-Two good formularies are the "Era Formulary," published by D. O. Haynes & Co., of 8 Spruce Street, New York, and the "Standard Formulary," published by G. P. Engelhard & Co., of 358 Dearborn Street, Chicago. The drugs needed for the formulas which you mention can be secured of any jobber. C. F. H.-Pulverize 8.3 parts of solid indigo in a poreclain dish, and add 33 1-3 parts of sulphuric acid. Let it stand for six hours with frequent stirring with a wooden or glass rod, and pour into a flask containing one-half gallon of water, not too cold. Throw powdered chalk into the flask until effervescence ceases, in order to remove the sulphuric acid, which is injurious to the clothes. The whole is then allowed to stand quietly for a few days, then filtered through blotting paper, and can be kept for years without fear of spoiling. Bookkeeping Methods for the Druggist. J. C.-The system of bookkeeping known as "Abbott's Epitome" is published by the Tenkwall File and Ledger Co., of Chicago, Ill. Regarding methods of bookkeeping suitable for the use of druggists, let us refer you to two excellent articles on the subject which have already appeared in the BULLETIN: one by C. G. Buchanan, on page 145 of the BULLETIN for April, 1902, and the other by E. H. Beach, editor of the Bookkeeper, on page 192 of the BULLETIN for May, 1901. You doubtless have these copies in your BULLETIN file, but if not the publisher of the BULLETIN will furnish them at ten cents each. Dyeing Tapestry. H. F. M.-The subject of the dyeing of tapestry is too technical a one, and would involve too extensive treatment, to be discussed in these columns. We would refer you to the Scientific American, of New York City. Irritating Action of Carbon Bisulphide. A. M. S. is very anxious to know what happens when carbon bisulphide is dropped on an animal's back! We hope he has not been performing any physiological experiments of this sort, or that he has not been trying to discover why a tin can has such a peculiar sound when tied to the end of a dog's tail. Applied to the skin, carbon bisulphide is a counterirritant, and causes a good deal of smarting—this is the only explanation that can be made of its effect on a dog. Ridding a Cellar of Fleas. W. L. S.-L. O. Howard recommends benzine. A safer method is to sprinkle the floor thickly with. quicklime; or a good sized bundle of fresh pennyroyal scattered over the floor will drive them out. If fresh pennyroyal is not obtainable get two ounces oil of pennyroyal, two ounces oil of sassafras, and four ounces of alcohol; shake well together in a bottle and spray around with an atomizer. If you substitute sweet oil for alcohol, the mixture, when rubbed on the hands and face, will keep off mosquitoes. Homeopathic Medicines and Literature. H. N. S.-Books on homeopathy may be procured of Boereke & Tafel, of 1011 Arch Street, Philadelphia. Moreover, in addition to its publishing interests, this house manufactures a line of homeopathic medicines. Other manufacturers are Mitchell's Pharmacy, Wilcox Street, Detroit, Mich., and the Halsey Pharmacy, of Chicago. Patent medicines of the homeopathic type, such as Humphrey's Specifics, are of course handled by all jobbers. A Journal for Soda Dispensers. J. E. Z.-Such a magazine is The Soda Fountain, published by the Dispenser Publishing Co., at 172 Washington Street, Chicago. The subscription price is $1.00 per year. Elixir of Heroin and Terpin Hydrate. W. H. C. A formula for this preparation has appeared repeatedly in the BULLETIN, and may be found on page 263 of the issue for June of the present year. Solution Iron Peptonate and Manganese. S. W.-A formula for this preparation has been printed in the BULLETIN Over and over again, and last appeared on page 43 of the issue for January of the present year. Mr. Cooban's "Cooling Cream." M.'s Pharmacy.-The formula for Mr. Cooban's "cooling cream" is given this month in the adjoining department of "The Druggist's Specialties" under the title: "A Lotion for Chapped Hands." Cubeb Cigarettes. N. S. G.-These are usually made of coarsely powdered cubebs rolled into cylinders with a paper cover, the ends of the cover being turned in to prevent the drug from falling out. Short Answers. C. L. C.—No, the chocolate coating of tablets is not practicable on a small scale. Something was said regarding this subject on page 261 of the BULLETIN for June of this year. L. E.-Your jobber can doubtless supply you with such a label book as you mention. If not, write to E. B. Read & Sons, of Baltimore, Md. A. T.—We are not able to give you a formula for the proprietary article mentioned, nor do we know the nature of its composition. S. B. We have not been able to find "Taraxacum Compound" mentioned in any of the published lists of proprietary medicines. E. B. We are not able to give you a formula for the proprietary preparation named. J. A. G. See answer given elsewhere this month to "J. J. Q." |