>?ART III.

Preparations of Honey.

679

" Melt the honey in a water-bath: then remove the scum."

By thus liquefying honey, the wax it may have retained whenexpressed from the comb rises to the surface; and at the sametime any sand or other impurities with which it may have beenfraudulently mixed, fall to the bottom or rise with the wax, andare easily separated. The specific gravity of purified honey is1*81; it is chiefly employed for forming the other preparationsinto which honey enters.

MEL BORACIS. Lond. Honey of Borax.

" Take of sub-borate of soda, powdered, a drachm ; clarifiedhoney, an ounce. Mix them."

This is a cooling, detergent, useful application to the tongueand fauces in aphthous affections. Dissolved in water it formsan excellent gargle for allaying the pain attending mercurialsalivations.

MEL ROSJE. Lond. Bose Honey. 1

" Take of the petals of the red rose, dried,Jour ounces; boil-ing water, three pints ; clarified honey, Jive pounds. Maceratethe petals in the water for six hours; then to the filtered liquoradd the honey, and boil it down to a proper consistence bymeans of a water-bath."

Dublin.

" Take of the petals of red rose buds, dried and freed fromtheir claws, four ounces; boiling water, three pints; honey, Jivepounds. Macerate the petals in the water for six hours ; thenmix the honey with the strained liquor, and boil the mixture tothe consistence of a syrup, taking off the scum."

This honey has the pleasant flavour of the rose, and a slightdegree of astringency. In making it, the clarified honeyordered by the London College is to be preferred. It is chieflyemployed as an adjunct to detergent and astringent gargles.

OXYMEL SIMPLEX. 1 Lond. Dub. Oxymel.

" Take of clarified honey, two pounds ; acetic acid (distilledvinegar), one pound. Boil them in a glass vessel, by a gentleheat, to a proper consistence."

Simple oxymel in doses of f5j. or more, dissolved in barley-water, forms a pleasant and cooling beverage in fevers and in-flammatory affections. It is often added to gargles in cynanchetonsillaris, and is a common vehicle of other remedies in catar-rhal complaints. The Dublin College orders it to be preparedwith unclarified honey, skimming it during the boiling; butthe London directions are to be preferred.

• Mel Rosarum, P. L. 17'io. Mel rosaceum, P. L. 1745. Miel rosat (F.) Rosen-honig (<?.) Mele rosato (/.)

■ Melaceiatum, P. L. 178". Oxymel (F.) Essighonig (<?.) Ossimcle (/.)

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