Ceratum Hydrargyri Compositum. Lond. Compound Cerate of mercury

"Take of the stronger ointment of mercury, soap cerate, each four ounces ,• camphor an ounce. Rub them together until they are incorporated.

1 In one case, which came under my observation, a blister on the scalp was dressed for four days with this cerate. On the fourth day the head swelled to an alarming size; and an oedematose erysipelas covered the scalp and face, and shut up the eyes; accompanied with a great degree of fever. On removing the acrid dressings, and employing emollient fomentations, with dressings of" cetaceous ointment, these alarming symptoms soon subsided.

This cerate is well adapted to excite action in indolent tumours.

Ceratum Plumbi Acetatis. Lond. Cerate of Acetate of Lead

"Take of acetate of lead in powder, two olrachms; wax, two ounces; olive oil, eight fluid ounces. Melt the wax in seven fluid ounces of the oil; then add, gradually, the acetate of lead, separately rubbed down with the remaining oil, and stir with a spatula, until they be thoroughly incorporated."

This is an excellent cooling cerate for burns, excoriations, and other inflamed sores.

Ceratum Plumbi Compositum. Lond. Compound Cerate of Lead.x

"Take of solution of diacetate of lead, three fluid ounces; wax, four ounces ,; olive oil, half a pint; camphor, half a drachm. Melt the wax and mix it with eight fluid ounces of the oil; then remove them from the fire, and as soon as they begin to thicken, add gradually the solution of diacetate of lead, and stir assiduously with a spatula till they be cold. Finally, mix with these the camphor dissolved in the remainder of the oil."

This composition is similar to what was recommended by Goulard, as a mode of applying lead in the form of ointment, and long known under the name of Goulard's Cerate. It is applicable to the same cases as the former cerate.

Ceratum Resinae. Lond. Resin Cerate

"Take of resin, wax, each a pound; oil of olive, sixteen fluid ounces. Melt the resin and the wax together by a slow fire, then add the oil, and strain the cerate while it is hot through a linen cloth."

Unguentum Resinosum. Edin. Resinous Ointment

"Take of hog's lard, eight parts; resin, Jive parts; yellow wax, two parts. Melt the whole with a gentle heat, and stir the mixture until it stiffen in cooling."

Unguentum Resinae Albae. Dub. Ointment of White Resin

"Take of yellow wax, a pound; white resin, two pounds; prepared hog's lard, four pounds. Make them into an ointment, which is to be strained, while it is hot, through a sieve."

Syn. Cerat Resineux (F.), Harzzerat (G.), Cerotto Resinoso (I.).

These ointments are stimulant, digestive, and cleansing; and therefore form an excellent dressing for foul and indolent ulcers.

1 This name is improper. It ought to have been ceratum plumbi diacetatis comp.; the virtue of the composition depending on the diacetate of lead, not on lead.

Officinal preparation. - Linimentum Terebinthinae, L.

Ceratum Sabinae. Lond. Cerate of Savine

" Take of savine, bruised a pound; wax, half a pound; lard, two pounds. Melt the lard and the wax together, and boil the savine leaves in the mixture; then strain through a linen cloth."

Unguentum Sabinae, Dub. Savine Ointment.

"Take fresh leaves of savine, freed from the stalks and bruised, half a pound; prepared hog's lard, two pounds; yellow wax, half a pound. Boil the leaves with the lard until they become crisp; then strain with expression; lastly, add the wax, and melt them together."

The preparation of this ointment is exceedingly difficult, as the acrid principle of the savine, on which its efficacy depends, is much injured by long boiling, or by too high a temperature. It would be better to express the acrid juice from the fresh leaves, and mix it with the ointment when it begins to thicken by cooling. The ointment, when good, has a beautiful deep green colour, and the odour of the fresh-bruised herb. It should be kept in closely covered pots, as it soon loses its virtue by exposure to the air.

Savine ointment, which was first described by Mr. Crow-ther1, is well calculated for keeping up a purulent discharge from a blistered surface; which it does as effectually, and with much less irritation, than the ointment of cantharides. A white coat is apt to form on the discharging surface, and must be removed occasionally, so as to allow the cerate to be applied to the sore.

Ceratum Saponis. Lond. Cerate of Soap

"Take of soap, ten ounces; wax, twelve ounces and a half; oxide of lead, powdered, fifteen ounces; olive oil, a pint; vinegar, a gallon. Boil the vinegar with the oxide of lead over a slow fire, stirring diligently until they incorporate; then add the soap and boil again in a similar manner, until the moisture be entirely evaporated; lastly, mix the wax, previously melted with the oil."

The efficacy of this cerate evidently depends on the acetate of lead which is formed in the first stage of the process, the soap answering scarcely any other purpose than to give consistence and adhesiveness. It is occasionally used as a cooling dressing.

1 Observations on White Swelling.