By a simple calculation of the cost of manufacture, and expense of importation, it will be seen that pure oil of wine could not be imported and sold at the prices asked for the samples above mentioned. In making this calculation it will be necessary to observe that under the existing excise law, the price of alcohol in England is much higher than in the United States, and is now, I am informed, from 17 to 18 shillings sterling per gallon. The following calculation (based on the results of Hennell’s process) gives the cost of pure oil of wine, manufactured in England and imported into this country, at $35 per pound; but the spurious articles now sold for oil of wine, are offered at prices varying from $4 to $6,50 per pound.

34 lbs. alcohol (about 5 gallons) at 17 shillings sterling per gallon,

$18 70

68 lbs. oil of vitriol, at 21⁄2 cents per pound,

1 70

Labor, fire, packing, bottle, &c.

1 50

Cost of 17 oz. oil, to the English manufacturer,

$21 90
Or per pound,

Cost of making 1 lb. pure oil in England,

$20 61

Manufacturer’s profit, say 10 per cent.,

2 06

Wholesale price in England,

$22 67

Duties paid by importer, 30 per cent.

6 80

Charges paid by importer, 10 per cent.

2 26

Cost of importation,

$31 73

Profit on importation,

3 27

Wholesale price of the imported oil,

$35 00

I regret that I have been unable to find the price of pure oil of wine quoted in the lists of any of the manufacturing chemists, but think it fair to infer that if the article is offered for sale, of English manufacture, at less than $2 per ounce, that impurity or adulteration may be suspected, and in this case, I would recommend the following process for testing its purity.

Agitate a small portion of the oil in a test tube, with an equal measure of water. If it dissolves, reject the sample as impure, but if the mixture separates into two portions, after standing at rest for a few moments, put it on a paper filter, previously well moistened with water. The water in the mixture will pass through the moistened filter, leaving ether or oil upon it. If this is colorless or very pale yellow, it should be exposed a few hours to spontaneous evaporation, to ascertain if it contains oil. But if it is yellow and heavier than water, this portion may consist of oil of wine; this, however, should be verified by observing the odor and sp. gr. of the oil. By carefully operating upon a known quantity in the above manner, the proportion of alcohol or ether (if present) may be easily determined.

As the efficacy of Hoffman’s Anodyne is due to the heavy oil of wine contained in it, and as the proportion of this oil to the other constituents is small, it is particularly necessary that {69} the oil should be pure. The high price of alcohol in England, and a defect in the directions formerly given for its preparation in the United States Dispensatory, are the probable causes of the absence of pure oil of wine in New York. In recent editions of the above work, the defective proportions have been substituted by those of the London college, and there is now no reason why pure oil of wine should not be made in the United States, where alcohol is cheaper, probably, than in any other part of the world. I hope that our manufacturing chemists will turn their attention to this subject, and displace all worthless chemical and phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal preparations by such as will be useful to the public, and creditable to the manufacturers.

[The United States Pharmacopœia directs two pints of alcohol (sp. gr. .835) to be mixed with three pints of sulphuric acid (sp. gr. 1.845); by weight rather better than 3.3 of the acid, to one part of alcohol, and gives 1.096 as the sp. gr. of the oil.]—ED.

PRACTICAL HINTS, BY A WHOLESALE DRUGGIST.

The prosecution of the business of preparing and vending medicines, has been and still is too exclusively confined to the dollar and cent department.

Buyers take too much for granted. Ipecac is Ipecac all the world over, and he who can sell Ipecac at the lowest price is likely to sell the most and make the most money. To the credit of the craft, in part however, a manifest improvement in this respect, has taken place within the last few years, to their credit in part, I say, because the demand for good medicines has of late increased, compelling some druggists to furnish better qualities than they otherwise would.