NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY, Volume 1 (1852)

NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY,

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK,

EDITED BY BENJAMIN W. McCREADY, M. D. PROFESSOR OF MATERIA MEDICA AND PHARMACY IN THE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY,

ASSISTED BY A PUB­LISH­ING COM­MIT­TEE, CON­SIST­ING OF JOHN H. CUR­RIE, THOM­AS B. MER­RICK, EU­GENE DU­PUY, WM. HEGE­MAN, GEORGE D. COGGES­HALL.

VOLUME I.

NEW YORK:

JOSEPH W. HARRISON, PRINTER,

NO. 197 CENTRE, NEAR CANAL STREET.

1852.

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NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. JANUARY, 1852.

TO OUR READERS.

The College of Pharmacy was founded with a view to the elevation of the professional standing and scientific attainments of Apothecaries, as well as to guard their material interests by raising a barrier against ignorance and imposture. What they have accomplished and how far they have been successful it does not become the Board of Trustees to state; if the results have not, in all respects, been what might be desired, it has not arisen from want of earnest effort and honest intention on their part. As a further means of benefiting their profession, of keeping its members acquainted with the progress it is making at home and abroad, and of inspiring among them a spirit of scientific inquiry, they believe that the establishment of a Journal, devoted to the pursuits and the interests of Apothecaries, would be of the highest utility.

By far the wealthiest and most populous city in the Union, New York, with its environs, contains several hundred Apothecaries, among whom are many of great experience and eminent ability; it contains numerous Laboratories where chemicals are manufactured on a large scale, and where the appliances and refinements of modern science are compelled into the service of commerce; it contains within itself all the means of scientific progress, and yet these means lie, for the most part, waste and idle; the observations that are made and the processes that are invented profit only the observer and the inventor. Both they and their consequences—for even apparently trivial observations may contain in themselves the germ of important discoveries, and no man can tell what fruit they may produce in the minds of others—are lost to the world.

New York is the commercial centre of the Union, the point to which our products are brought for exportation, and from which various goods, {2} obtained from abroad, are distributed to the remainder of the United States. It is the chief drug mart of the Union; the source from which the largest part of our country draws its supplies of all medicines that are not the products of their own immediate vicinities. It is thus connected more intimately with the Druggists of a large portion of our country than any other city; many visit it annually or oftener; most have business relations with it. Is the spirit of trade incompatible with that of science? Is money-getting to absorb all our faculties to the exclusion of anything nobler or higher? Are we ever to remain merely the commercial metropolis of our Union, but to permit science and art to centre in more congenial and less busy abodes? Shall we not rather attempt to profit by our many advantages, to use the facilities thrown in our way by the channels of trade for the diffusion of scientific knowledge, and in return avail ourselves of the information which may flow into us from the interior?

But it is not alone, we hope, by the information it would impart that a Journal such as is contemplated would be useful. A higher and no less useful object would be that it would excite a spirit of inquiry and emulation among the profession itself; it would encourage observation and experiment; it would train our young men to more exact habits of scientific inquiry. In diffusing information it would create it, and would be doubly happy in being the means of making discoveries it was intended to promulgate.

Such are the views which have determined the Trustees of the College to publish a Journal of Pharmacy. It will appear on the first day of every month, each number containing thirty-two octavo pages. It will be devoted exclusively to the interests and pursuits of the Druggist and Apothecary. While it is hoped that its pages will present everything that is important relating to the scientific progress of Pharmacy, it is intended to be mainly practical in its character, subserving the daily wants of the Apothecary, and presenting, as far as possible, that kind of information which can be turned to immediate account, whether it relates to new drugs and formulæ, or improved processes, manipulations, and apparatus. Such are the aims and ends of the New York Journal of Pharmacy; and the Druggists of New York are more particularly appealed to to sustain it, not only by their subscriptions, but by contributions from their pens. This last, indeed, is urgently pressed upon them; for, unless it receives such aid, however successful otherwise, it will fail in one great object for which it was originated. When special information is wanted on any {3} particular subject, the conductors of the Journal, if in their power, will always be happy to afford it.

It is no part of the intention of the College to derive an income from the Journal. As soon as the state of the subscription list warrants it, it is intended to increase its size so that each number shall contain forty-eight instead of thirty-two pages.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF COLLEGE OF PHARMACY AS AMENDED.

The Committee to whom was referred the subject of the establishment of a Journal of Pharmacy in the city of New York, have given their attention to the subject, and beg leave to report as follows:

1. That in their opinion it is all important that a Journal of Pharmacy should be established in this city as soon as practicable, for reasons well known, and therefore unnecessary here to enumerate.

2. They recommend that the first number of a Journal of thirty-two octavo pages be issued on the 1st day of January next, and one number each month thereafter, to be called the New York Journal of Pharmacy.

3. The general control of the Journal shall be vested in a committee of five, which shall review every article intended for publication, four of whom shall be elected annually by the Board of Trustees at the first stated meeting succeeding the annual election of officers; and a committee of the same number shall be now elected, who shall act until the next annual election, to be denominated the Publishing Committee. The President of the College of Pharmacy shall be “ex officio” a member of this Committee, and the whole number of this Committee shall be five, two of whom may act.

4. That an Editor be appointed by the Publishing Committee who shall attend to all the duties of its publication, and cause to be prepared all articles for the Journal, and to have the entire management of it under the control and direction of the Publishing Committee.

5. The compensation for the services of the Editor, together with all financial matters connected with the Journal, shall be subject to the control of the Publishing Committee. {4}

6. The matter to be published in the Journal shall be original communications, extracts from foreign and domestic journals, and editorials. No matter shall be published except what may relate directly or indirectly to the subject of Pharmacy, and the legitimate business of Druggists and Apothecaries. No advertisements of nostrums shall be admitted.

7. The subscription list shall be kept in the hands of the Publishers, subject to the disposal of the Publishing Committee.

(Signed) T. B. MERRICK,
Chairman.

The Board then balloted for members of the Publishing Committee, when the following were found to be elected.

MESSRS. JNO. H. CURRIE,
THOS. B. MERRICK,
C. B. GUTHRIE,
EUGENE DUPUY,
with Ex Officio, GEO. D. COGGESHALL,
President of the College.

ON TWO VARIETIES OF FALSE JALAP. BY JOHN H. CURRIE.

Two different roots have for some time back been brought to the New York market, for the purpose of adulterating or counterfeiting the various preparations of Jalap. They differ materially from the Mechoacan and other varieties of false Jalap which formerly existed in our markets, as described by Wood and Bache in the United States Dispensatory, while some of the pieces bear no slight resemblance to the true root. The specimens I have been able to procure are so imperfect, and so altered by the process of drying, that the botanists I have consulted are unable to give any information even as to the order to which they belong. I have not been able either to trace their commercial history, nor do I know how, under the present able ad­min­i­stra­tion of the law for the inspection of drugs, they have obtained admission to our port. The article or articles, since {5} there are at least two of them, come done up in bales like those of the true Jalap, and are probably brought from the same port, Vera Cruz.

No. 1 appears to be the rhizome or underground stem of an exogenous perennial herb, throwing up at one end each year one or more shoots, which after flowering die down to the ground. It comes in pieces varying in length from two to five inches, and in thickness from the third of an inch to three inches. In some of the pieces the root has apparently been split or cut lengthwise; in others, particularly in the large pieces, it has been sliced transversely like Colombo root. The pieces are somewhat twisted or contorted, corrugated longitudinally and externally, varying in color from a yellowish to a dark brown. The transverse sections appear as if the rhizome may have been broken in pieces at nodes from two to four inches distant from each other, and at which the stem was enlarged. Or the same appearance may have been caused by the rhizome having been cut into sections of various length; and the resinous juice exuding on the cut surfaces, has hindered them from contracting to the same extent as the intervening part of the root. On the cut or broken surfaces are seen concentric circles of woody fibres, the intervening parenchyma being contracted and depressed. The fresh broken surfaces of these pieces exhibit in a marked manner the concentric layers of woody fibres. The pieces that are cut longitudinally, on the other hand, are heavier than those just described, though their specific gravity is still not near so great as that of genuine Jalap. Their fracture is more uniform, of a greyish brown color, and highly resinous.

This variety of false Jalap, when exhausted with alcohol, the tincture thus obtained evaporated, and the residuum washed with water, yielded from 9¹⁄₂ to 15¹⁄₂ per cent. of resin, the average of ten experiments being 13 per cent. Its appearance was strikingly like that of Jalap resin. It had a slightly sweetish mucilaginous taste, leaving a little acridity, and the odor was faintly jalapine. It resembled Jalap resin in being slowly soluble in concentrated sulphuric acid, but unlike Jalap resin it was wholly soluble in ether. In a dose of ten grains it proved feebly purgative, causing two or three moderate liquid stools. Its operation was unattended with griping or other unpleasant effect, except a slight feeling of nausea felt about half an hour after the extract had been swallowed, and continuing for some time.

This variety of false Jalap is probably used, when ground, for the purpose of mixing with and adulterating the powder of true Jalap, or is sold {6} for it, or for the purpose of obtaining from it its resin or extract, which is sold as genuine resin or extract of Jalap. The powder strikingly resembles that of true Jalap, has a faint odor of Jalap, but is destitute, to a great extent, of its flavor. The dust, too, arising from it, is much less irritating to the air passages.

The second variety is a tuber possibly of an orchidate plant, a good deal resembling in shape, color and size, a butternut, (Juglans cinerea.) Externally it is black or nearly so, in some places shining as if varnished by some resinous exudation, but generally dull, marked by deep longitudinal cuts extending almost to the centre of the tubers; internally it is yellow or yellowish white, having a somewhat horny fracture, and marked in its transverse sections with dots as if from sparse, delicate fibres. When first imported the root is comparatively soft, but becomes dry and brittle by keeping. Its odor resembles that of Jalap, and its taste is nauseous, sweetish, and mucilaginous.

This root contains no resin whatever. Treated with boiling water it yields a large amount (75 per cent.) of extract. This is soluble, to a great extent, likewise in alcohol. With iodine no blue color is produced.

The extract obtained from this drug appears, in ordinary doses, perfectly inert, five or ten grains producing, when swallowed, no effect whatever. Is this root employed for the purpose of obtaining its extract, and is this latter sold as genuine extract of Jalap?

Of the effect which frauds of this kind cannot fail to have on the practice of medicine it does not fall within my province to speak, but commercially its working is sufficiently obvious. One hundred pounds of Jalap at the market price, 60 cents per pound, will cost $60. In extracting this there will be employed about $5 worth of alcohol, making in all $65. There will be obtained forty pounds of extract, costing thus $1 62¹⁄₂ per pound.

One hundred pounds of false Jalap, No. 1, may be obtained for $20; admitting the alcohol to cost $5, it will make in all $25. This will produce thirty-six pounds of extract, costing rather less than 70 cents per pound.

One hundred pounds of variety No. 2 may be had for $20, and no alcohol is necessary in obtaining the extract. The yield being seventy-five pounds, the extract will cost rather less than twenty-seven cents per pound.

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VIRGIN SCAMMONY, WITH SOME RE­MARKS UPON THE CHAR­AC­TER­IS­TICS OF SCAM­MO­NY RE­SIN. BY B. W. BULL.

The more extended use in medicine which this substance has acquired within a few years, and its consequent greater consumption, render the knowledge of its peculiarities and the modes of ascertaining its purity doubly important to the druggist and apothecary.

An instance occurred a few weeks since, showing the necessity of careful and thorough examination of every parcel of this drug, and possessing some interest, from the fact that no description of any similar attempt at falsification has, I believe, been before published.

The commercial house with which I am connected, purchased a parcel of what purported to be virgin scammony from the importer, who obtained it direct from Smyrna. A sample of it was examined and found to contain seventy per cent. of resinous matter, but when the whole lot was received, it was found to consist evidently of two different grades of the article.

The whole of it was composed of amorphous pieces, possessing externally a similar appearance. Upon breaking them, however, a manifest difference was observable. Some of the pieces possessed the resinous fracture, and the other char­ac­ter­is­tics of virgin scammony, while the remainder, which constituted about five eighths of the whole, exposed a dull, non-resinous surface when freshly broken.

I selected two samples, each possessing in the highest degree the char­ac­ter­is­tics of the two varieties, and subjected them to the action of sulphuric ether with the following results, designating the resinous or best No. 1, and the other specimen No. 2:—

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The vegetable substance in No. 2 was principally, if not entirely, farinaceous or starchy matter, of which the other contained not a trace. The result shows that this parcel of scammony was composed partly of true virgin scammony mixed with that of an inferior quality; and also indicates the necessity of examining the whole of every parcel, and of not trusting to the favorable result of the examination of a mere sample.

The powder in the two specimens was very similar in shade, and they possessed in about the same degree the odor peculiar to the substance, showing the fallacy of relying upon this as a means of judging of the comparative goodness of different samples. This fact may appear anomalous, but on different occasions the powder of No. 2 was selected as having the most decided scammony odor.

Since examining the above, I have had an opportunity of experimenting upon a portion of scammony imported from Trieste as the true Aleppo scammony, of which there are exported from Aleppo not more than from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds annually.

The parcel consisted of a sample of one pound only, which was obtained from a druggist of respectability in that place by one of my partners, who was assured that the sample in question was from the above source, and the kind above alluded to. This scammony was in somewhat flattish pieces, covered externally with a thin coating of chalk in which it had been rolled, the structure was uniformly compact, the color of the fracture greenish, and it possessed in a high degree the caseous odor.

The fracture was unusually sensitive to the action of moisture. By merely breathing upon a freshly exposed surface, a film resembling the bloom upon fruit was at once perceived. Its specific gravity was 1,209, which, it will be observed, approximates with unusual accuracy to that given by Pereira as the specific gravity of true scammony, viz. 1,210. It contained—

There was no starchy matter present in the portion examined.

The mode of deciding upon the value or goodness of different samples of scammony, by ascertaining the amount of matter soluble in sulphuric ether, has seemed to me productive of a negative result in showing {9} how much non-resinous matter was present, rather than a certain method of ascertaining the actual amount of scammony resin present; but some experiments upon the resinous residuum lead to a more favorable conclusion.

The results of the analyses made by Johnston, who seems to be the only chemist who has paid any attention to its ultimate composition, show that it varies in composition materially from many other resins.

Or expressed in per cents:—

The resin analysed by Johnston was obtained by evaporating the alcoholic solution, and he describes it as opaque, pale yellow, hard, and brittle; when obtained, however, by evaporating the ethereal solution I have found it transparent.

It might be inferred that, with a composition so different from that of the substances above adduced, its behavior with re-agents would be different from theirs; and its action with strong acids confirms the supposition, as may be seen by reference to the appended papers from a late number of the Paris Journal of Pharmacy.

The Edinburgh Pharmacopœia has an extract of scammony among its officinal preparations, prepared by treating scammony with proof spirit, and evaporating the solution. It is described as of a dirty greenish brown color. This color, however, is not a necessary accompaniment, but is owing either to some coloring matter being dissolved in the menstruum or to the partial oxydation of the dissolved substance under the influence of the air and the heat of the operation.

The ethereal solution of scammony resin, when gradually evaporated, and without exposure to heat, leaves a colorless or amber-colored resin, perfectly transparent and soluble in alcohol; when heated, however, {10} during the operation, more or less insoluble matter of a dark color is found. Sometimes the ethereal solution, when spontaneously evaporated, leaves a dark residuum, but a second solution and evaporation leave it as above described.

This product, obtained from several different parcels of virgin scammony, I have considered free from admixture with any of the substances with which scammony is said to be adulterated, and from the similarity of their behavior, and, as the circumstances under which the sample from Trieste above alluded to was obtained are such as to make its genuineness very certain, feel warranted in so doing.

Sulphuric acid does not immediately decompose it, but produces the effect described by M. Thorel.

Nitric acid produces no discoloration, nor does hydrochloric acid immediately.

If scammony should be adulterated with colophony, sulphuric acid would be a very ready method of detection, though it would seem that this substance would hardly be resorted to, unless an entirely new mode of sophisticating the article should be adopted abroad.

The introduction of farinaceous substances and chalk is effected while the scammony is in a soft condition, in which state it would be difficult to incorporate colophony completely with the mass.

An admixture of resin of guaiac is also detected by the same agent, a fact which seems to have escaped observation.

When brought in contact with sulphuric acid, resin of guaiac immediately assumes a deep crimson hue, and this reaction is so distinct that a proportion of not more than four or five per cent. is readily detected.

The deep red mixture of sulphuric acid with resin of guaiac becomes green when diluted with water, a remarkable change, which adds to the efficacy of the test. Scammony resin, on the contrary, suffers no alteration by dilution.

In addition, nitric acid affords a ready mode of ascertaining the presence of resin of guaiac. It is well known that nitric acid, when mixed with an alcoholic solution of guaiac, causes a deep green color, which soon passes into brown, or if the solution is dilute, into yellow.

This reaction is manifest when scammony resin is mixed with guaiac resin in the proportion above mentioned, though the greenish blue tinge is then very transient, and sometimes not readily perceived.

Chloride of soda is a delicate test for the presence of guaiac resin. {11} Added to an alcoholic solution, a beautiful green color appears, while it produces no effect on scammony resin. This reaction is very evident, though transient, when a very small proportion of guaiac is present. Nitrate of silver causes a blue color in a solution of guaiac resin, as does also sesqui-chloride of iron, neither of which agents affects the color of a solution of scammony resin. In fact, the evidences of the presence of guaiac are so numerous and distinct that there can be no possibility of an undetected adulteration with this substance.

The high price of resin of jalap would seem to be sufficient to prevent its being resorted to as a means of sophisticating scammony; but in case this substance should be made use of, the method proposed for detecting it by means of ether is defective, since, according to authorities, resin of jalap is partially soluble in that substance.

It becomes of interest to know whether in the preparation of scammony the juice of the plant from which it is obtained is ever mixed with that of other plants of similar properties, or with that of plants destitute of efficacy. This information can, of course, only be furnished by those familiar with the localities and with the mode of its preparation.

[1]“In advancing the opinion that scammony should only be employed for therapeutic purposes in the state of resin, I mean that this resin should only be prepared by the apothecary himself. When, however, it is impossible for the apothecary to do so, and the commercial article is in consequence resorted to, there arises a liability to deception. We must then be enabled to recognise its purity.

To avoid detection of the fraud, the admixture must either be in small quantity, or it must possess nearly the same action. In this latter case, resin of jalap would be employed as being less in price and nearly as active.

The method I propose for detecting an adulteration of this nature, in case it should be attempted, is based on the one side upon the entire insolubility of resin of jalap in rectified sulphuric ether, and on the other, upon the solubility of scammony resin in this liquid. Nothing is easier than the detection of a mixture of these two resins, since eight grammes of ether dissolve completely ten centigrammes of scammony resin. {12}

Thus by agitating for a short time a mixture of twenty centigrammes of suspected resin with sixteen grammes of sulphuric ether, we shall be certain of the presence of resin of jalap, provided there is no other admixture, if a portion remains undissolved. This undissolved portion, dried and weighed, gives the proportion of the two resins.

Other more culpable sophistications may be attempted, either by the addition of resin of guaiac, or by that of colophony or other substances.

The resin of guaiac may easily be detected by means of the solution of gum, which I have specified as one of the most certain re-agents (Repertoire du Pharmacien, vol. iv., 1848), or by the means of nitrous gas, or bichloride of mercury.

Many re-agents disclose the presence of common resin or of pitch in the resin of scammony. First, spirits of turpentine, which dissolves the common resin at the ordinary temperature, and which leaves scammony resin almost untouched. The most certain re-agent, however, in my opinion, is sulphuric acid. This acid possesses the property of dissolving many resins—modifying their composition more or less.

Thus, if a small quantity is poured on common resin, an intense red color is produced by contact; poured on scammony resin, on the contrary, it does not produce an immediate change; only after some minutes, and with exposure to the air, does it become colored, and then but feebly, with the production of a color resembling the lees of wine, while in the first case the color is a very deep scarlet.

By this method one twentieth part of colophony may be detected in scammony resin. It is sufficient to pour upon twenty-five or thirty centigrammes of resin, placed in a glass or porcelain mortar, four or five grammes of commercial sulphuric acid, and to give one or two turns of the pestle; if colophony is present, the mixture will redden immediately upon contact; if, on the contrary, it is pure, the liquid will only become colored after the lapse of some time.

Colophony being more soluble in sulphuric acid is acted upon with more rapidity.”

[2]“Scammony resin obtained by alcohol of 86 degrees occurs in form of powder or in thin transparent scales, if the alcoholic solution has been evaporated on a stove upon plates, or upon sheets of tin. {13}

It is characterized by the peculiar odor of the substance from which it is obtained, the odeur de brioche, or of rancid butter.

If scammony resin has been mixed with one twentieth of common resin, trituration in a mortar developes the odor of the latter to a sufficient degree to cause detection of the fraud. Heated in a tube, a peculiar odor manifests itself with sufficient distinctness to indicate its purity.

This pure resin is soluble in all proportions in ether of 56 degrees (·752). This property affords a means of purifying it, by means of which it is obtained in thin flakes, by exposure to the air on plates.

Solution of ammonia at 24 degrees (·910) dissolves scammony resin completely. The solution has a more or less green color. These different properties, which the resin of scammony, obtained by alcohol, possesses, are sufficiently distinct to assist in distinguishing it from other resins or to establish its purity.”

December, 1851.

[1] Methods for detecting Resin of Jalap, Resin of Guaiac, and Colophony, in Resin of Scammony. By MR. THOREL.—From the Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, for Nov. 1851.

[2] Note by MR. DUBLANC.—From the Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, Nov. 1851.

ON THE PREPARATION OF STRAMONIUM OINTMENT. BY EUGENE DUPUY, PHARMACEUTIST, NEW YORK CITY.

The powerful narcotic and sedative properties of the Datura stramonium; added to the fact of its luxuriant growth in the vacant grounds of the inhabited districts of the United States, has made its use popular with most of our practising physicians. Besides its use smoked as tobacco in asthmatic cases, its properties analogous to those of hyosciamus and belladonna, have enabled practitioners to use it with success for producing dilatation of the pupil and in anodyne fomentations. In fact, the consequence of its demonstrated efficient activity as a remedial agent, has prompted its adoption in the United States Pharmacopœia, where the leaves and seeds are recognised, and the Tincture, Extract, and Ointment are officinal. According to our Pharmacopœia, last edition, to prepare the ointment, one drachm of the extract of stramonium is mixed to the proportion of one ounce of lard. Such a mixture, though possibly as effectual as need be, lacks the green color and homogeneity to which both patients and physicians have been accustomed. To remedy these objections, I have found the {14} following process to give a good preparation both in quality and appearance. I am inclined to think that the objections which have been made to the former officinal ointment are chiefly ascribable to the difficulty of obtaining readily an ointment which would keep one year, that is free from water of vegetation or not impaired by a too protracted ebullition, and consequent decomposition, which deprives it of its properties, spoiling its appearance, and giving it an unpleasant pyrogenous odor, which shows the extent of the alteration it has undergone, making of it an irritating rather than a soothing unguent. In the process I now submit to the opinion of the profession, I had in view, 1st. To obtain at all seasons an ointment fulfilling the reasonable expectations of practitioners; 2d. Which could be easily prepared by competent Phar­ma­ceu­tists throughout the United States. It is as follows:

Moisten the leaves, previously reduced to a coarse powder, with sufficient alcohol, in a tight vessel having a suitable cover; melt the lard in a pan three times in capacity to the bulk of the lard, and stir in it gradually the prepared stramonium; keep the mixture in a warm place for five hours, stirring occasionally, till the alcohol has disappeared from the ointment, which may be ascertained by placing a lighted match on the surface of the warm ointment just stirred. Filter the mixture through flannel, in an appropriate vessel. The stramonium ointment thus prepared is a reliable preparation, possessed of a handsome green color, a rather pleasant herbaceous odor, and forms a homogeneous mass containing all the valuable constituents of the Datura stramonium, if the leaves have been gathered while the plant is in bud, and properly preserved. For the warm days of summer the substitution of two ounces of beeswax for the same quantity of lard gives it the consistence which it has at the low temperature of the remaining seasons.

{15}

COMPOUND FLUID EXTRACT OF SENNA AND DANDELION. BY EUGENE DUPUY, PHARMACEUTIST, NEW YORK CITY.

Mix the dry plants, previously reduced to a coarse powder, with the water holding the alkaline carbonate in solution; let the mixture stand twelve hours; introduce it in a percolator, and gradually pour in water until a gallon of liquid shall have passed; evaporate it to twenty ounces by means of a water bath, then add the sugar, filter, and make the addition of the alcoholic solution of gaultheria when cold. By following this process, I believe that a kind of saponification takes place, which allows of the more ready solution of the active principle of the senna in the aqueous vehicle, probably because chlorophylle being united to a dried essential oil, participating in the properties of resins, is rendered soluble, and the extractive portion being denuded of its resinoid covering, is more readily extracted by the percolating liquid. I make use of a percolator possessed of a convenient hydraulic power; it has rendered readily, within thirty hours, a highly saturated liquid, containing in a gallon all the soluble principles of this extract. Ordinary percolators will answer also; but the ingredients needing to be more loosely packed, do not yield so fully or so readily. The addition of torrefied dandelion root is intended to give to this fluid extract some greater value on account of its peculiar action on the hepatic system. I employ in preference the German chamomile (Camomila vulgaris[3]), because of its pleasant aroma and its carminative properties, joined to a bitter principle, which seems to increase the purgative effect of the senna.

This extract has become a favorite anti-bilious purgative with many of {16} our practitioners, who, some of them at least, have used it with success with children, who can take it readily, as well as for adults, where an anti-bilious purgative is desirable, seldom producing pain or nausea, and not liable to induce constipation.

[3] Matricaria.

ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY A VERY SMALL DOSE OF SANTONINE GIVEN TO A CHILD.

Santonine, being a tasteless vermifuge, is easily given to children, consequently its employment becomes daily more and more frequent; we therefore think it useful to expose the accidents which may follow the use of this medicine, when given in too large a dose. We refer to a case given in the Bulletin de Thérapeutique, by Dr. Spengler (d’Herborn). The patient, a child of four years old, who had been suffering for several months from intestinal worms, had taken at different times, and with success, a dose of a grain and a half. One day they gave him three grains in two doses; after the first dose he became troubled with pains in the epigastrium, colic, and vomiting. He had frequent stools, in which were found a number of ascarides. Notwithstanding these numerous evacuations, the bad symptoms continued to increase; his body became cold, his face livid, his eyes had a blue circle round them, a cold sweat broke out, his respiration became embarrassed, and his extremities convulsed. Besides these symptoms, M. Spengler mentions that there were dilatation of the pupils and great pain in the abdomen (not, however, increased by pressure). He prescribed milk in abundance, and after several evacuations, the potion of Rivière in an oily emulsion. The little patient was placed in a very warm bed; during the night he was much disturbed; the following day he took some doses of calomel, after which several worms were evacuated, and from that time he became convalescent. We have related this fact as a caution against the accidents which may result from the use of santonine, although the severity of the symptoms and the smallness of the dose may make us doubt whether the santonine was pure, or whether some other cause might not have produced the terrible results attributed to it.—Journal de Pharmacie et Chimie.

{17}

ON POISONING BY NICOTINE. Read before the National Academy of Medicine. BY M. ORFILA.

GENTLEMEN,—In laying before the Academy a memoir on Nicotine, on the 20th of last month, I stated that I did not think I ought to read it, fearing that it might exercise some influence on the proceedings which were to take place at Mons, eight days afterwards. My scruples are now entirely removed, because I was present at the three first sittings of the Court of Assizes at Hainault, and have heard the examination of the accused persons, and the depositions of some of the witnesses. My memoir, supposing it to be published to-morrow, and consequently much before the sentence will have been pronounced, will not aggravate the situation of the accused, nor increase the power of the ministers of justice. You will see, in fact, that after describing nicotine, I came to the conclusion, that it may be easily detected in the digestive canal, the liver, the lungs, and all those organs into which it has been carried after its absorption. Now, M. de Bocarmé confesses that he prepared some nicotine, that Gustave Fougnies took an appreciable dose of it, and died very shortly afterwards. Consequently, he cannot dispute the fact of M. Stas having found this alkaloid in the body of his brother-in-law. It is of little importance to us that Madame de Bocarmé accuses her husband of being the author of the crime, whilst he, on the other hand, attributes the death of Gustave to a mistake of his wife’s, who might inadvertently have poured the nicotine into a glass instead of wine. It will be for the jury to decide what truth there is in these assertions; as scientific men, we ought to confine ourselves in this case to the solution of the chemical and medical problems relating to this subject.

I think I ought to read to the Academy the textual memoir, without the preamble, which I composed a fortnight ago, when the principal circumstances, which have since been developed, were but imperfectly known.

The principal object of this paper is to show:—

1. That we may characterize pure nicotine as easily as we can a poison derived from the mineral kingdom.

2. That we may detect this alkali in the digestive canal, and assert its existence there, although it is present only to the extent of a few drops. {18}

3. That it is sufficiently easy to prove its presence in the liver and the other organs, after it has been absorbed.

1. Pure Nicotine may be characterised as easily as a Poison derived from the Mineral Kingdom.—Nicotine, discovered in 1809 by the illustrious Vauquelin, was studied in 1828 by Messrs. Posselt and Reimann, who found it in different species of nicotiana, in macrophylla rustica, and glutinosa. Messrs. Boutron, Charlard, and Henry described some of its properties in 1836. Havanna tobacco contains two per cent., that of Maryland 2·3, that of Virginia 6·9, that of Alsace 3·2, that of Pas-de-Calais 4·9, that of the Nord 6·6, and that of Lot 8. It is classed among the natural volatile vegetable alkalies, which are only three in number, namely, conicine, theobromine, and nicotine. This last is entirely composed of hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. It may be represented as a compound of one equivalent of ammonia (H₃N), and of one of a hydro-carbon containing four equivalents of hydrogen and ten of carbon (H₄C₁₀). It is now obtained by a much more simple process than was formerly adopted, which consists in passing the vapor of tobacco into water acidulated with sulphuric acid. Sulphate of nicotine is thus speedily produced, and this has to be decomposed by a strong alkali. It is then only necessary to apply sufficient heat to volatilize the nicotine. This mode of preparation indicates that smokers in respiring the smoke of tobacco introduce into their bodies a certain quantity of the vapor of nicotine.

Characters of pure Nicotine.—It is in the form of an oleaginous, transparent, colorless, tolerably fluid, anhydrous liquid, of the density of 1·048, becoming slightly yellow with keeping, and tending to become brown and thick from contact with the air from which it absorbs oxygen; its acrid odor resembles but slightly that of tobacco; its taste is very burning. It volatilizes at 77° F., and leaves a carbonaceous residue. The vapor which rises presents such a powerful smell of tobacco, and is so irritating, that it is difficult to breathe in a room in which one drop of it has been spilt. If this vapor be approached with a lighted taper, it burns with a white smoky flame, and leaves a carbonaceous residue as an essential oil would do. It strongly blues reddened litmus paper. It is very soluble in water, in alcohols, and in fat oils, as also in ether, which easily separates it from an aqueous solution. The great solubility of nicotine in both water and ether forms an important fact in its chemical history, as the greater number of vegetable alkalies, not to say all, if they dissolve easily in one of these liquids, are not readily soluble in the other. {19}

Nicotine combines directly with acids, disengaging heat. Concentrated pure sulphuric acid, without heat, produces with it a wine-red color; on the application of heat to this it becomes thick, and acquires the color of the dregs of wine; if it be boiled it blackens and disengages sulphurous acid. With cold hydrochloric acid it disengages white vapors as ammonia does; if the mixture be heated it acquires a violet color, the intensity of which increases with prolonged ebullition. Nitric acid, aided with a little heat, imparts to it an orange-yellow color, and white vapors of nitric acid are first given off, then red vapors of hyponitrous acid. If it be further heated the liquor becomes yellow, and by ebullition it acquires a red color resembling that of chloride of platinum. Prolonged ebullition gives a black mass. Heated with stearic acid it dissolves and forms a soap, which congeals on cooling, and is slightly soluble in water, and very soluble in heated ether. The simple salts of nicotine are deliquescent, and difficultly crystallizable. The double salts which it yields with the different metallic oxides crystallize better.

The aqueous solution of nicotine is colorless, transparent, and strongly alkaline. It acts like ammonia on several reagents; thus, it gives a white precipitate with bichloride of mercury, acetate of lead, protochloride and bichloride of tin; a canary yellow precipitate with chloride of platinum, which precipitate is soluble in water; a white precipitate with salts of zinc, which is soluble in excess of nicotine; a blue precipitate with acetate of copper. This precipitate is gelatinous and soluble in excess of nicotine, forming a blue double acetate, similar to that formed by ammonia with the same salt. It gives an ochre-yellow precipitate with salts of the sesqui-oxide of iron, insoluble in excess of nicotine. With sulphate of protoxide of manganese it gives a white precipitate of oxide, which speedily becomes brown by contact with the oxygen of the air. It separates the green sesqui-oxide from the salts of chromium. The red permanganate of potash is instantly decolorized by nicotine, as by ammonia, although this latter alkali acts more slowly and must be used in larger proportion.

The following reactions may serve to distinguish the aqueous solutions of nicotine from ammonia. Chloride of gold yields a reddish-yellow precipitate, very soluble in an excess of nicotine. Chloride of cobalt yields a blue precipitate, which changes to green; the oxide thus formed does not readily dissolve in excess of nicotine, whilst ammonia dissolves the green precipitate and forms a red solution. Aqueous solution of iodine gives a yellow precipitate with solution of nicotine, as chloride of platinum would {20} do; with an excess of nicotine it acquires a straw color, and it is decolorized by the action of heat. Ammonia, on the contrary, immediately decolorizes the aqueous solution of iodine without rendering it turbid. Pure tannic acid gives with nicotine an abundant white precipitate. Ammonia gives no precipitate, but imparts a red color.[4]

[4] It is interesting to compare the physical and chemical properties of nicotine with those of conicine.

Conicine is yellow; its smell resembles that of the urine of the mouse, and differs entirely from that of nicotine; it strongly blues reddened litmus paper. Added to water and shaken with it, it floats on the surface and is not readily dissolved. Ether dissolves it easily. When heated in a capsule it forms white vapors, having a strong smell of celery mixed with that of the urine of the mouse. Weak tincture of the iodine yields a white precipitate, which acquires an olive color with excess of the tincture. Pure and concentrated sulphuric acid does not alter it; when the mixture is heated it acquires a greenish brown color, and if the heat be continued it becomes blood-red and afterwards black. Nitric acid imparts to it a topaz color, which is not changed by the action of heat. Hydrochloric acid yields white vapors as ammonia does, and renders it violet, especially when heated. Tannic acid gives a white precipitate, and chloride of platinum a yellow precipitate. The red permanganate of potash is immediately decolorized. Corrosive sublimate yields a white precipitate. Acetate of copper gives a gelatinous blue precipitate, less soluble in an excess of conicine than is that formed with nicotine. Chloride of cobalt behaves with it as it does with nicotine. Chloride of gold gives a light yellow precipitate. Neutral acetate of lead does not give any precipitate; neither does the subacetate. Chloride of zinc gives a white gelatinous precipitate soluble in excess of the conicine. Sulphate of sesquioxide of iron gives a yellow precipitate. The words in italics indicate the means of distinguishing conicine from nicotine.

If to these chemical characters which permit one so easily to distinguish nicotine, we add those resulting from the action which it exercises on the animal economy, it will no longer be possible to confound it with any other body. The following are the results of the experiments I undertook in 1842 on this alkali, and which I published in 1843. (See the 4th edition of my work on Toxicology.)

First Experiment.—I applied three drops of nicotine on the tongue of a small but sufficiently robust dog; immediately afterwards, the animal became giddy, and voided urine; at the end of a minute, its breathing was quick and panting. This state lasted for forty seconds, and then the animal fell on its right side, and appeared intoxicated. Far from showing any stiffness or convulsions, it was feeble and flabby, although the fore paws slightly trembled. Five minutes after the ad­min­i­stra­tion of the {21} poison, he uttered plaintive cries, and slightly stiffened his neck, carrying his head slightly backwards. The pupils were excessively dilated; the respiration was calm, and in no way accelerated. This state lasted ten minutes, during which the animal was not able to stand. From this time the effects appeared to diminish, and soon after it might have been predicted that they would speedily disappear entirely. Next day, the animal was quite well. The nicotine I used was evidently not anhydrous.

Second Experiment.—I repeated the experiment with five drops of nicotine on a dog of the same description. The animal showed the same effects, and died at the end of ten minutes, although during four minutes he showed slight convulsive movements.

Opening of the Body the day following.—The membranes of the brain were slightly injected, and the superficial vessels were gorged with blood; this injection was especially observed on the left side, and in the lower part of the brain. The brain itself of the ordinary consistence, had the two substances of which it is composed, slightly disintegrated, the striated substance was much injected, as well as the pons varolii. The membranes which envelope the cerebellum were still more injected than the other parts. Between the first and second cervical vertebræ on the right side, that is, on the side on which the animal fell, there was a rather considerable effusion of blood. The lungs appeared to be in their natural state. The heart, the vessels of which were gorged with blood, was greatly distended, especially on the right side, with clots of blood; the auricles and the right ventricle containing much, and the left ventricle none. The superior and inferior vena cava, and the aorta, were equally distended with clots of semi-fluid blood. The tongue was corroded along the middle line, and towards the posterior part, where the epithelium separated with facility. In the interior of the stomach there were found a black pitchy matter and a bloody liquid, which appeared to have resulted from an exudation of blood. The duodenum was inflamed in patches; the rest of the intestinal canal appeared in a healthy state.

Since the above period I have made the following experiments, which I have frequently repeated with the same results, only that in some cases I have found the blood contained in the cavities of the heart in a fluid state, even when proceeding to dissection immediately after death; nevertheless the blood speedily coagulated.

Third Experiment.—At eleven o’clock I administered, to a dog of moderate size, twelve drops of nicotine. A few instants afterwards {22} giddiness came on, and he fell on the right side; he soon manifested convulsive movements, slightly at first, then sufficiently strong to constitute a tetanic fit with opisthotonos; he was in a remarkable state of drowsiness, and uttered no cry. His pupils were dilated; there was no action of the bowels, nor vomiting. He died at two minutes after eleven. The body was immediately opened. The abdomen and thorax, on being cut open, sometimes emitted a very decided smell of tobacco. The heart contained a considerable quantity of black coagulated blood. There was more in the right auricle and ventricle than in the left. The lungs appeared in a normal state. The stomach contained about forty grammes of a thick, yellow, slimy liquid; and here and there parts of the mucous membrane were inflamed. The œsophagus, the intestines, the liver, the spleen, and the kidneys, were in a normal state. The epithelium was easily detached from the tongue; the base of this organ was red and slightly excoriated. The brain was more injected than its enveloping membranes; the pons varolii was the same as in the second experiment.

Fourth Experiment.—I applied on the eye of a dog of moderate size one drop of nicotine; the animal instantly became giddy and weak in its limbs; a minute afterwards he fell on his right side and manifested convulsive fits, which became more and more powerful; the head was thrown back. At the end of two minutes the convulsions ceased, and extreme weakness ensued. Five minutes afterwards the animal could stand, but was unable to walk. Ten minutes later he was in the same state without having vomited or had any action of the bowels. Urged to walk, he made a few undecided steps, then vomited about one hundred grammes of a greyish alimentary paste. At the end of half an hour he was in the same state. It was evident that he was recovering. The conjunctiva was sensibly inflamed, and the transparent cornea was, to a great extent, opaque.

2. We may detect nicotine in the digestive canal, and affirm its existence there, although it may be only present to the extent of a few drops. I would call the particular attention of the Academy to this paragraph; I have never, in the course of my numerous experiments, seen animals whose death has been almost instantaneous, either vomit or have any action of the bowels.[5] If it be the same with man, as everything tends to prove it is, the Chemist will, under such circumstances, be in the most favorable {23} condition for detecting the poison, as there will most frequently be a sufficient quantity in the canal to determine its presence.

[5] If life is prolonged the animals vomit.

Before describing the two processes to which I had recourse for the determining the existence of nicotine in the stomach and intestines, as well as in the œsophagus, it may be observed that I acted separately on the liquid and solid matters contained in these organs, and on the organs themselves.

First Process.—The contents of the stomach and intestines, or the organs themselves, are placed in a considerable proportion of sulphuric ether; after twelve hours of maceration, it is to be filtered; the ether passes through, holding nicotine in solution; most frequently when the matters on which the ether has acted are fatty, the ether holds in solution a soap composed of nicotine and one or several fatty acids; it may also happen that it contains non-saponified nicotine. The ethereal liquid is evaporated almost to dryness by very gentle heat. The greasy and soapy product obtained rarely shows any alkaline reaction. It is to be agitated, without heat, with caustic soda dissolved in water, to decompose the soap and set free the nicotine. The whole is then to be put into a retort furnished with a receiver plunged in cold water, and heat applied to the retort until no more liquid remains in it. The liquid condensed in the receiver contains either all, or at least a large proportion of the nicotine. It is well to know that, 1st, when heat is applied to the retort, the matter froths, augments in volume, and would certainly pass into the receiver, if the retort was not very large in relation to the quantity of liquid operated upon; 2ndly, even at a temperature of 212° Fahr., the vapor of water carries with it a certain quantity of nicotine, therefore the operation should be carried on as much as possible in close vessels. If these precautions be observed, the distilled liquid will be limpid and colorless; it suffices then to concentrate it over a water-bath, to about a sixth of its volume, to obtain with it all the reactions of nicotine.

Second Process.—The method of which I am now going to speak is evidently superior to the preceding. The matters contained in the stomach and intestines, or the organs themselves, as well as the œsophagus, are macerated in water acidulated by pure and concentrated sulphuric acid, taking, for instance, four or five drops of acid to one hundred and fifty or two hundred grammes of water. At the end of twelve hours it is to be filtered; the liquid, which is generally of a yellow color, contains sulphate of nicotine and a certain quantity of organic matter. It is then to be {24} evaporated almost to dryness in close vessels over a water-bath; then treated with a few grammes of distilled water which dissolves the sulphate of nicotine, leaving the greater part of the organic matter undissolved; it is now to be filtered; the filtered liquor is to be saturated with a little pure hydrate of soda or potash, in order to take the sulphuric acid, and set free the nicotine. The mixture of nicotine and of sulphate of soda or potash is to be put into a retort, and heated as described in the first process; the distilled liquid is to be evaporated over a water-bath in order to concentrate the solution of nicotine.

Instead of distilling the liquor by heat, I have often treated it with ether; this latter decanted and submitted to spontaneous evaporation leaves the nicotine.

Everything tends to show that nicotine may be detected by other processes. Thus by treating the digestive canal with absolute alcohol, with the addition of a little soda, it would be dissolved, and by the reaction of the soda, a soap would be formed with the fatty matter, which would set free the nicotine; it would then only remain to distil it by heat, after having evaporated to dryness. Perhaps, also, it might be separated by acting on the tissues with pure soda or potash, then evaporating to dryness and heating it in closed vessels.

3. It is sufficiently easy to prove the presence of nicotine in the liver and other organs after it has been absorbed.—In 1839 when I had shown that poisons after having been absorbed might be extracted from the organs where they had been carried with the blood, I insisted so strongly on the necessity of examining these organs with a view to the detection of poisons, that it has now become the custom to proceed in this way. How often does it happen, that, in consequence of repeated vomiting and action of the bowels, and also from complete absorption having taken place, there remains no trace of the poison in the digestive canal? Moreover, it is evident, that, in getting the poison from the organs to which it has been carried by absorption, we obtain, in reality, that portion of the poison which has been the cause of death, unless it be shown that it was carried to those organs after death by absorption. M. Stas has conformed, most wisely, to this precept. For my part, I could not, in my researches, neglect this important branch of the investigation. The livers of those animals which I had poisoned with twelve or fifteen drops of nicotine, when submitted to one or other of the processes I have described, furnished me with appreciable quantities of this alkali. I scarcely obtained any from {25} the blood contained in the heart, but I had only operated upon a few grammes. Moreover, experience teaches that a great number of poisons absorbed rapidly pass from the blood into the organs, and most especially into the liver.

It may be readily conceived that the research for absorbed nicotine might be fruitless in those cases where death was occasioned by only a few drops of this body; but then the presence of the alkali may be detected in the digestive canal.

Gentlemen, after results such as those obtained by M. Stas and myself, society may feel satisfied. Without doubt intelligent and skilful criminals, intent on puzzling the Chemists, will sometimes have recourse to very active poisons, but little known to the community at large, and difficult to detect; but science is on the alert to surmount all difficulties. Penetrating to the recesses of our organs, she extracts evidence of the crime, and furnishes one of the great elements of conviction against the guilty. Do we not know that at the present time poisonings by morphine, brucine, strychnine, nicotine, conicine, hydrocyanic acid, and many other vegetable substances which were formerly believed to be inaccessible to our means of investigation, may be discovered and recognised in a manner to be perfectly char­ac­ter­is­tic?

During my stay at Mons, and consequently since the deposit of this memoir, I have had at my disposal the complete and remarkable Report of M. Stas, and I have satisfied myself:—

1st. That this Chemist has obtained nicotine from the tongue, from the stomach, and liquids contained in it, and also from the liver and lungs of Gustave Fougnies.

2ndly. That he also obtained nicotine by properly treating the boards of the dining-room where Gustave died, although these boards had been washed with warm water, with oil, and with soap.—Repertoire de Pharmacie.

The Count Hippolyte Visarte de Bocarmé confessed his guilt, and was executed at Mons.

{26}

ON THE ESTIMATION OF THE STRENGTH OF MEDICINAL HYDROCYANIC ACID, OF BITTER ALMOND WATER, AND OF CHERRY LAUREL WATER. BY J. LIEBIG.

Liquids which contain prussic acid, and are mixed with caustic potash ley until they have a strong alkaline reaction, yield, on the gradual addition of a diluted solution of nitrate of silver, a precipitate, which, on being shaken, disappears to a certain extent. Alkaline liquids containing prussic acid, may also be mixed with a few drops of a solution of common salt without the production of any permanent precipitate, until at last, on an increased addition, chloride of silver falls down.

This phenomenon depends on the fact that oxide of silver and chloride of silver are soluble in the generated cyanide of potassium, until there is found a double salt, composed of equal equivalents of cyanide of potassium and cyanide of silver, which is not decomposed by an excess of alkali. Liebig’s method of estimating the prussic acid consists in determining the quantity of silver which must be added to an alkaline liquid, containing prussic acid, until a precipitate appears. Each equivalent of silver corresponds to two equivalents of prussic acid. Having caused several experiments to be made, which prove the efficacy of this method; and having carefully observed that the presence of formic acid and muriatic acid in the prussic acid, does not interfere with the correctness of this method, the author gives the following directions for examining different liquids containing prussic acid:—The aqua amygdalarum amarum being turbid, must be clarified by the addition of a known quantity of water: 63 grs. of fused nitrate of silver are dissolved in 5937 grs. of water; 300 grs. of this liquid corresponds to 1 gr. of anhydrous prussic acid. Before applying the test, the vessel with the solution of silver is to be weighed, and of the latter so much is added to a weighed quantity (e.g. 60 grs.) of prussic acid, mixed with a small portion of potash ley and a few drops of a solution of common salt, shaking it in a common white medicine glass until a perceptible turbidness takes place, and does not disappear on shaking. The solution of silver is now again to be weighed; and supposing 360 grs. are found to have been employed for the test, the 60 grs. of the tested prussic acid contain 1,20 grs. anhydrous prussic acid, or 100 grs. contain two grains. {27}

Aqua laurocerasi, which the author examined, contained in one litre, one decigram, and the same quantity of aqua amygdal. amar. 7·5 decigrammes of anhydrous prussic acid.—(In Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Journal, from Ann. de Chem. U. Pharm. Bd. lxxvii.)

THE PHARMACOPŒIA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The appearance of a new edition of the Pharmacopœia is to the apothecary always a matter of high interest; to it he looks for the recognized improvements in the various processes which he has constantly to perform; by it essentially he is to be guided in all the officinal preparations which he makes; and from it he learns what new articles, by their intrinsic merits and through the vogue they have obtained, are deemed of sufficient importance to be recognized officinally as additions to the materia medica. The general arrangement of the new Pharmacopœia is the same as that of 1840. Owing to the wise principles which governed the earlier framers of the Pharmacopœia—though, from the progress of botanical science, the scientific names of the plants to which many of the articles of the vegetable materia medics are referred, have been changed, and with improvements in chemistry, the nomenclature of several salts has been altered—this has led to little alteration in the designations employed in the Pharmacopœia. Assafœtida is now referred to Narthex Assafetida, instead of Ferula A.; Diosma is, after the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia, termed Barosma; Camphor to Camphora officinarum; Cardamom to Elettaria Cardamomum; Cinchona flava to C. calisaya; Cinchona pallida to C. condaminea and C. micrantha, while the source of Cinchona rubra is not yet indicated. Colocynth is now termed the fruit of Citrullus colocynthis; kino is said to be the inspissated juice of Pterocarpus marsupium, and of other plants; quassia is referred to Simaruba excelsa, and uva ursi to Artostaphylos uva-ursi.

Of the names of the articles of the materia medica, as was before stated, very few are changed. Myroxylon, of the old Pharmacopœia, is now Balsamum Peruvianum, Tolutanum, Balsamum Tolutanum; Diosma, {28} after the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia, is now Buchu; Zinci carbonas is changed to the old name, calamina; iodinum, following the British Pharmacopœias, is iodinium, and brominum, brominium. Port wine has been introduced, and consequently, instead of the Vinum of 1840, we have now Vinum Album, Sherry, and Vinum Rubrum, Port Wine.

The secondary list of the materia medica, a peculiarity of our national pharmacopœia, is still retained, to what good purpose it is hard to understand. The framers of the book state that “it has the advantage of permitting a discrimination between medicines of acknowledged value and others of less estimation, which, however, may still have claims to notice.” The advantage is not a very evident one. The distinction that is attempted is very difficult to make satisfactorily; it will vary with individuals, and, we fancy, too, with the place at which it is made. Certainly few in New York would put Angostura bark with Horsemint (Monarda), and Queen’s root (Stillingia) in the primary list; while Apocynum cannabinum, one of the most active of our diuretics, and Malefern, in tape-worm, one of the most certain anthelmintics, are exiled to the secondary. If popular, instead of professional reputation, is to be the criterion, are not Arnica, and Matricaria, and Benne leaves, and horehound, quite as well entitled to a place in the primary list as many of the articles that now figure there? And are there not twenty simples in use among the old women of the country that deserve a place in the national Pharmacopœia as well as may weed, and frost wort, and fever root? Though, too, new articles should not readily be admitted until time has fixed their value, we should like to have seen some notice of Matico and of the salts of Valerianic acid. We are sorry, too, to see the old definition of rhubarb still adhered to; “the root of Rheum palmatum and of other species of Rheum;” that of the Edinburgh Pharmacopœia, “the root of an unknown species of Rheum,” thus rendering the Russian or Chinese rhubarb alone officinal, is very much preferable.

Of the substances introduced into the Materia Medica, the chief are Aconite root (aconiti radix), Extractum cannabis (extract of hemp), Oleum morrhuæ (cod liver oil), Oleum amygdalæ amaræ (oil of bitter almonds), and Potassæ chloras (chlorate of potassa). By Arnica in the last Pharmacopœia was understood the root and herb of Arnica montana; for these, in the present—the name remaining unchanged—the flowers are substituted. The additions to the Materia Medica have been made with judgment, and certainly nothing has been admitted with the exception perhaps of {29} Helianthemum (Frostwort), of doubtful utility, or that has not for some time been submitted to the test of experience.

The preparations introduced are all familiar to the pharmaceutist, and have for a long time been kept in most good shops. It is singular that in the last Pharmacopœia, by nitrate of silver was understood the fused nitrate. This oversight has been corrected, and by Argenti nitras now is understood the salt in crystals, while the common lunar caustic is Argenti nitras fusa. Among the new preparations are the active principles of Aconitum Napellus (Aconitia), Oxide of Silver, Iodide of Arsenic, Chloroform, Collodion, a number of fluid extracts, Citrate of Iron, Glycerine, Solution of Citrate of Magnesia, the oils of Copaiba, Tobacco, and Valerian, Iodide of Lead, Potassa cum calce, Bromide of Potassium, Syrup of Wild Cherry bark—of gum—and Tinctures of Aconite root, Kino, and Nux Vomica, and compound tincture of Cardamom.

The Iron by hydrogen, as it has been sometimes rather awkwardly termed, the Fer réduit of the French, after the British Pharmacopœias, is termed Ferri pulvis, powder of iron. Soubeiran’s formula for the preparation of Donovan’s Liquor (Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri Iodidi) is given as much simpler and of easier preparation than the original formula of Donovan; there is, too, a good formula for the extemporaneous preparations of pills of iodide of iron. The solution of the Persesquinitrate of Iron, as it has been sometimes termed, appears as solution of Nitrate of Iron; it is a preparation that soon becomes altered by keeping. Tincture of Aconite root is directed to be made by macerating a pound of bruised Aconite root for fourteen days with two pints of alcohol, expressing and filtering. A process by percolation is also given. This is weaker than the tincture of either of the British Pharmacopœias, and weaker, we believe, than the tincture ordinarily employed here. As an external application, for which it is chiefly used, this is a great disadvantage, and when administered internally, the varying strength of a medicine so powerful will be attended with serious evils.

The old formulæ for the preparation of the alcoholic extract of aconite and of the extractum aconiti (expressed juice), are retained, both being made from the leaves. The extracts when thus made, even when properly prepared, are for the most part inert. No formula is given for the preparation of an alcoholic extract from the root.

There are three new preparations among the ointments:—Unguentum Belladonnæ, Potassii Iodidi, and Sulphuris Iodidi. The ointment of Iodide {30} of Potassium is directed to be made by dissolving a drachm of the iodide in a drachm of boiling water, and afterwards incorporating the solution with the lard.

On the whole, there is much more to praise than to find fault with in the Pharmacopœia. Upon some of the preparations we will hereafter find further occasion perhaps to comment.

PHARMACEUTICAL CONVENTION.

In pursuance of a call issued by the College of Pharmacy of the City of New York, a Committee of Delegates from the different Colleges of Pharmacy in the United States assembled at the College Rooms in New York at 5 o’clock P. M. on Wednesday, the 15th of October.

Delegates from Philadelphia and Boston were in attendance. The Maryland College (at Baltimore) and the Cincinnati College were not represented, although Delegates from each had been previously reported to the Committee of Arrangements in New York. A communication of some length was received from the Cincinnati Delegation.

The Convention was organized by the appointment of Mr. Charles Ellis of Philadelphia as Chairman, and Dr. Samuel R. Philbrick of Boston as Secretary, pro tem. A Committee was then appointed by the nomination of each delegation, consisting of Messrs. Samuel M. Colcord of Boston, Alfred B. Taylor of Philadelphia, and George D. Coggeshall of New York, to examine credentials and nominate officers for the Convention. The Committee retired, and on their return reported the credentials satisfactory, and proposed Dr. B. Guthrie of New York as President, and Mr. Alfred B. Taylor of Philadelphia as Secretary, who were unanimously confirmed.

Dr. Guthrie, on taking the chair, made a few remarks expressive of his sense of the honor conferred by appointing him presiding officer of the first Convention of the kind ever held in the United States, and explanatory of the objects of the Convention, which were in accordance with the growing feeling amongst druggists and phar­ma­ceu­tists of its necessity to establish standards of the qualities of imported Drugs and Medicines for the government of the United States Inspectors at the different ports, and in addition to act upon such matters of general interest to the Profession as may be presented to the consideration of the Convention.

Reports were presented by the majority (Messrs. Guthrie and Coggeshall) and the minority (Mr. Merrick) of the New York delegates, embodying their views upon the subject of standards, and also in regard to false drugs which should be excluded.

A communication from the Cincinnati Delegates was read, and Mr. Restieaux of Boston read an interesting statement of the working of the Drug Law in that city. {31}

A general discussion ensued upon various topics connected with the business of the Convention, and resulted in the appointment of a committee, consisting of Messrs. Proctor of Philadelphia, Restieaux of Boston, and Coggeshall of New York, to consider the several communications, and to arrange the general plan of business, and report at the next sitting.

The Convention then adjourned to Thursday, at 12 o’clock.

Second sitting, Oct. 16th.—The Convention met at 12 o’clock. The Committee appointed yesterday made a report, reviewing the numerous propositions presented by the different Colleges, and submitting a general system for regulating standards, which, in their judgment, should prevail uniformly at the ports of entry, with numerous specifications of prominent articles to which their attention was called by their importance, and the difficulty that has been sometimes found in deciding upon them.

The report was considered in sections in a lengthy and very interesting discussion, in which the members generally participated. With some amendments it was adopted.

The Committee also offered the following preamble and resolutions, which were adopted, viz.

WHEREAS, The advancement of the true interests of the great body of Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal practitioners in all sections of our country is a subject worthy earnest consideration; and whereas Phar­ma­ceu­tists, in their intercourse among themselves, with physicians and the public, should be governed by a code of ethics calculated to elevate the standard and improve the practice of their art; and whereas, the means of a regular phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal education should be offered to the rising Phar­ma­ceu­tists by the establishment of Schools of Pharmacy in suitable locations; and whereas, it is greatly to be desired that the united action of the profession should be directed to the accomplishment of these objects; therefore,

Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Convention, much good will result from a more extended intercourse between the Phar­ma­ceu­tists of the several sections of the Union, by which their customs and practice may be assimilated; that Phar­ma­ceu­tists would promote their individual interests and advance their professional standing by forming associations for mutual protection, and the education of their assistants, when such associations have become sufficiently matured; and that, in view of these important ends, it is further

Resolved, That a Convention be called, consisting of three delegates each from incorporated and unincorporated Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Societies, to meet at Philadelphia on the first Wednesday in October, 1852, when all the important questions bearing on the profession may be considered, and measures adopted for the organization of a National Association, to meet every year.

On motion, it was resolved that the New York Delegation be appointed a Committee to lay the proceedings of this Convention before the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and afterwards have them published in pamphlet form.

Dr. Philbrick of Boston offered the following preamble and resolution, which were adopted:— {32}

WHEREAS, To secure the full benefits of the prohibition of sophisticated drugs and chemicals from abroad, it is necessary to prevent home adulteration; therefore,

Resolved, That this Convention recommend to the several Colleges to adopt such measures as in their respective states may be best calculated to secure that object.

On motion of Mr. Colcord of Boston, it was

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by this Convention to act as a Standing Committee to collect and receive such information as may be valuable, and memorials and suggestions from any Medical and Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Association, to be presented at the next Convention.

The President appointed G. D. Coggeshall of New York, S. M. Colcord of Boston, and W. Proctor, Jr., of Philadelphia, as the Committee.

A vote of thanks to the officers was passed, and then the Convention adjourned, to meet in Philadelphia on the first Wednesday in October, 1852.

The following circular letter has since been issued by the President of the Convention, and addressed to the leading Phar­ma­ceu­tists throughout the Union:—

NEW YORK, November 25, 1851.

SIR:—At a meeting of Delegates from the Colleges of Pharmacy of the United States, held in this city on the 15th of October, 1851, the following preamble and resolutions, explanatory of themselves, was offered, and, after a free and full discussion, unanimously adopted:—

[Here follow the preamble and resolutions introduced by Messrs. Proctor, Restieaux, and Coggeshall.]

The objects set forth in the above, I trust, will meet the hearty approbation of yourself and the apothecaries of your place, and lead to the formation (if not already in existence) of such an Association as will co-operate in the furtherance of the proposed association.

Our medical brethren have, as you are doubtless aware, an organization, similar in character, holding its sessions annually, in which all matters pertaining to their profession are fully discussed—the beneficial effects of which are already apparent, though the association has been in existence but a few years.

They cannot give to the subject of Pharmacy the attention it requires and deserves, neither is it a matter legitimately falling under their cognizance, but belongs to Phar­ma­ceu­tists themselves.

The medical profession and the community at large rightfully look to us for the correction of any existing abuses, the advancement of the science, and the elevation of the business of an apothecary to the dignity and standing of a profession.

To this end we invite you to the formation of such Associations, in view of the Convention, to be held in Philadelphia, on the first Wednesday of October, 1852.

Communications intended for said Convention may be addressed to William Proctor, Jr., Philadelphia, George D. Coggeshall, New York, or S. M. Colcord, Boston.

Any communication touching the subject of the above letter will be cheerfully responded to by the President of the Convention.

C. B. GUTHRIE, M. D.,
President Convention of Colleges of Pharmacy.

{33}

NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. FEBRUARY, 1852.

ON THE PREPARATION OF PURE HYDRATE OF POTASH AND CARBONATE OF POTASH. BY HENRY WURTZ, A. M.

In preparing pure potash compounds, it is highly necessary, especially in order to avoid the possibility of the presence of soda, to select, as a starting point, some compound of potash which differs considerably in solubility from the corresponding soda compound. Either the bitartrate or the sulphate, therefore, is usually preferred.

The bitartrate is ignited; the carbonaceous mass, washed with water, and the solution of carbonate of potash, thus obtained, diluted and boiled with slack lime, in the usual way, in an iron kettle; the solution of hydrate of potash, thus obtained, is boiled to dryness, and the alcoholic solution of the residue evaporated in silver dishes, to obtain what is denominated alcoholic potash. This product should be, and most usually is, entirely free from sulphate of potash and chloride of potassium, since it is easy to crystallize the bitartrate free from these salts.

But an almost invariable accompaniment of this alcoholic potash is a trace of silicate of potash. The solution may assume no cloudiness on the addition of solution of chlorohydrate of ammonia, or upon addition of an excess of chlorohydric acid, and afterwards an excess of ammonia; but on adding excess of chlorohydric acid, and evaporation to dryness in a platinum {34} capsule, the aqueous solution of the residue will be found to have flakes of silica floating in it. Very few specimens that I have met with have stood this test. It is to be inferred that the soluble silicates of potash are not wholly insoluble in alcohol; but a question arises concerning the source from whence the silica is so frequently derived. It may be from the lime used, in some cases, or from silicium contained in the iron of the kettles employed. I am enabled to state, in addition, that of many specimens of commercial carbonate of potash which I have examined, some of which purported to have been prepared from cream of tartar by the method above alluded to, none have been found entirely free from silica. I have even found traces of this impurity in crystals of commercial bicarbonate of potash.

This constant contamination of potash, and carbonate of potash with silica, being a very important matter in consideration of the frequent use of these two substances in chemical analysis, I have been induced to devise a means of separating the silica from the carbonate. This I have accomplished by the use of carbonate of ammonia.

An aqueous solution of the carbonate which is to be freed from silica is evaporated to dryness on the sand bath (best in a sheet iron dish), adding from time to time lumps of carbonate of ammonia. The silicate is thus converted into carbonate, and on dissolving the residue of the evaporation in water, the silica appears in the form of flakes floating in the liquid, and may be separated by filtration. This solution of carbonate of potash, free from silica, may now be used for the preparation of pure hydrate of potash, taking care to use lime which is also free from silica.

I may here introduce a few words with regard to the preservation of hydrate of potash for use in analysis. Its preservation in the solid form is evidently no difficult matter; but when we attempt to keep the solution in glass bottles for the sake of convenience in using it as a re-agent, we generally find that it very soon takes up silica from the glass. I have found, however, that flint glass bottles will preserve such a solution much {35} longer than any other, lead glass not being easily acted upon, probably because it contains very much less silica. It might not be useless to make a trial of bottles made of thin soft iron, or sheet iron, for this purpose; but it is probable that pure silver is the true material for bottles, in which solution of potash is to be preserved. A very thin shell of silver might first be made, and afterwards strengthened by coating it thickly with galvanic copper.

The ease with which sulphate of potash can be obtained, in a state of purity, has long ago suggested its use as a material from which to prepare pure potash. Schubert[6] proposed to treat pulverized pure sulphate of potash with a concentrated solution of pure baryta, the latter somewhat in excess, and during the evaporation of the solution of hydrate of potash, thus obtained, the excess of the baryta is precipitated by the carbonic acid of the air. This, however, appears to be very expensive process. I have devised another method of treating pure sulphate of potash so as to obtain pure hydrate of potash therefrom; it consists merely in operating upon the sulphate of potash in a manner similar to that in which sulphate of baryta is operated upon to procure hydrate of baryta, that is in converting the sulphate into sulphide by the conjoined application of a reducing agent and a red heat, and to decompose the aqueous solution of the sulphide by the action of an oxide of a metal whose sulphide is insoluble, such as oxide of iron (?), oxide of copper or deutoxide of manganese. I use as a reducing agent, instead of charcoal, oil, rosin, etc., coal gas. This application of coal gas was proposed by Dr. Wolcott Gibbs. If it is found that the decomposition is not perfect, and that the solution of sulphide of potassium contains some sulphate of potash, or if a little sulphate is formed in the solution by oxidation, it is removed by the introduction of a little solution of baryta, according to the method of Schubert. I am not yet prepared, however, to give the details of this method.

[6] Erd. und Mar. Jour. 26, 117.

{36}

ON THE PREPARATION OF CHEMICALLY PURE HYDRATE AND CARBONATE OF SODA. BY HENRY WURTZ, A. M.

The remarks made in the last article with reference to the presence of silica in alcoholic potash, apply also, though not so generally, to commercial alcoholic soda. Few specimens of this product are met with which are so free from silica that it cannot be detected by saturation with chlorohydric acid, evaporation to dryness in a platinum vessel, and redissolution in water. Whatever may be the origin of the silica in this case, it is very often present.

I have selected, as the most convenient substance from which to prepare pure hydrate and carbonate of soda, a product which occurs very abundantly in commerce under the name of “carbonate of soda.” It is in the form of a very fine white powder, and on examination turns out to be the ordinary monohydrated bicarbonate of soda.

NaO, 2 C.O² + H.O.

For, upon ignition, 7.756 grns. lost, 2.7595 grns. of carbonic acid and water, which is equal to 35.60 per cent.; bicarbonate of soda should lose 36.88 per cent. It may be mentioned, in this connection, that a preparation sent over here by Button, a London Pharmaceutist, under the appellation of “Chemically Pure Carbonate of Soda,” upon examination turned out to be also bicarbonate. 2.324 grns. lost by ignition; 0.845 grn. = 36.45 per cent.

The commercial bicarbonate above mentioned, contains, of course, all the impurities of the carbonate from which it is made, this being an inevitable consequence of the method by which it is manufactured, which, as described in Knapp’s Chemical Technology, is simply to expose commercial crystals of carbonate of soda to the action of carbonic acid gas, which it takes up to the extent of one equivalent, falling into a fine powder, with evolution of heat and loss of water of cry­stal­li­za­tion. These impurities, in the case of the specimen operated upon by {37} me, were, besides considerable silica, sulphate of soda, chloride of sodium, a trace of phosphoric acid detected by monohydrate of ammonia, and a little organic matter which imparted to the mass a soapy smell.

The sulphate, phosphate and chloride are easily removed by washing with water by decantation, with a loss, however, of at least one half of the material. When the washings, after addition of excess of nitric acid, no longer react with nitrate of silver, or with chloride of barium, the mass is introduced into porcelain dishes, and dried on the sand bath; when dry it is exposed to a high sand bath heat, though not to a red heat, for two or three hours. By this treatment, not only are one equivalent of carbonic acid, and one equivalent of water expelled, but the greater part or the whole of the silicate is decomposed and converted into carbonate, so that a solution of the mass in water will now be found full of flakes of silica.

The filtered solution should now be tested for silica, and if not yet entirely free from it, must be evaporated again to dryness, with addition of lumps of carbonate of ammonia, exactly as proposed by me, in the last article, to separate silica from carbonate of potash. The residue of this last evaporation, on solution in water, filtration and evaporation in platinum, silver, or even clean sheet iron (never in glass or porcelain) dishes, will give pure carbonate of soda, from which may be prepared the pure hydrate of soda, observing the precaution of using lime which is free from silica.

{38}

REMARKS UPON SOME OF THE PRE­PAR­A­TIONS OF THE PHAR­MA­CO­PŒIA OF THE UNIT­ED STATES, 1851. BY GEORGE D. COGGESHALL.

The Pharmacopœia of the United States is, or should be, to the Pharmaceutist of the United States, his text book and standard. In making its preparations he should not vary from the letter of its directions, unless a change of process effects a quicker, more uniform, or more elegant result; in regard to strength he should not vary at all, except upon distinct understanding with the physician prescribing, or with his customer. It is much to be regretted that perfect conformity throughout the United States, with our National Pharmacopœia should not prevail, so that our citizens, traveling or removing with prescriptions, or copies of them, might not be subjected to inconvenient, and even in some cases to dangerous alterations, impairing confidence in the medicine relied upon, or involving the safety of the patient in using it. With these important considerations in view, the apothecary should, as far as circumstances permit, conform strictly to the acknowledged standard, giving up his own opinions, if need be, for the general good. But strict adherence to the formulæ of our Pharmacopœia seems not to be practicable in all cases, in all localities. When there is such diversity of practice in the City of Philadelphia and in New York, within five hours of each other, with intercommunication five times a day, in each of which the formation and subsequent revisions of the Pharmacopœia have been of such especial interest and attention, how can it be expected that in our widely extended country, in communities diversified almost as much as those of different nations, with many local habits, set by time and many prejudices, a full and uniform compliance with the official standard should prevail.

In New York it would disappoint the physician to put

ss of the officinal Solution of Sulphate of Morphia into a {39} prescription of

iv cough mixture, as much, if not as unpleasantly, as it would the Philadelphia physician for one of our brethren in that city to put

j of Majendie’s strength into a mixture of the same bulk. In New York the original strength of this solution has ever been preserved, not­with­stand­ing the change made officinal in three editions of our Pharmacopœia, and it is generally understood and used accordingly. With us the change has been remonstrated against, as unnecessary, because the dose can be as easily regulated as that of Fowler’s, or Donovan’s, or Lugol’s solution, the tinctures of aconite root, belladonna, iodine, and many other potent preparations; it may just as easily be preserved from doing mischief, and has often the advantage in mixtures of not displacing desirable adjuncts with superfluous water. It is true, that owing to the great difference in strength of the solution commonly understood here, and that of the Pharmacopœia, our College has felt it incumbent to request physicians to designate the intended one, by affixing a term (in brackets or otherwise) as “Maj,” or “Ph. U.S,” to avoid the possibility of misconstruction, except in clear cases as that of the mixture above mentioned; and that we should not feel justified in dispensing an ounce of Majendie’s solution alone, (especially if the prescription was for “Liquor Morphiæ, Sulphatis”—the officinal term) unless with an understanding of the strength wanted, or of the use to be made of it. This great discrepancy between what is of original and continued use and what is officinal, requires watchfulness, on our part, against occasional exceptions to the general prescription of our physicians, and in putting up prescriptions written in other places, Philadelphia particularly. We must judge of the solution required, from the context.

Our Pharmacopœia, in most of its formulæ, is undoubtedly entitled to our full respect and adherence, exhibiting on the part of the Revising Committee, laborious research and patient adjustment of details. But some of them, I think, are fairly open to criticism and susceptible of improvement. The formula given for preparing “CARBONIC ACID WATER,” is one by which it {40} may safely be said, no practical man ever has made, or ever can make, the article commonly known as mineral, or soda water, the latter name given to it in its early manufacture; when a portion of carbonate of soda entered into its composition, which is now generally omitted, though the name is retained in many places. In the first United States Pharmacopœia, 1820, the formula given is as follows:—

“Take of water any quantity.

Impregnate it with about ten times its volume of carbonic acid gas by means of a forcing pump.”

That was, probably, about the strength it was usually made at that time. It is now, generally made about one fifth or one fourth stronger. In the revision of 1830, the formula was changed as follows:—

“By means of a forcing pump, throw into a suitable receiver, nearly filled with Water, a quantity of Carbonic Acid equal to five times the bulk of the Water.”

“Carbonic Acid is obtained from the Hard Carbonate of Lime by means of dilute Sulphuric Acid.”

The latter formula is repeated in the revisions of 1840 and 1850, substituting the term “Marble,” for “Hard Carbonate of Lime.” The strength was altered from “ten times” of the first edition to “five times,” in 1830, and reiterated in 1840 and 1850. Why? “Ten times” was, perhaps, sufficient in the early use of this beverage, but was hardly considered strong enough in 1830, certainly was not in 1840, and has not been since. It is difficult to conceive a reason for such change. Surely, it could not have been recommended by practical men; on the contrary it was supposed to have been made by mistake or inadvertance. It is still more difficult to find a good reason for repeating this formula in the revisions of 1840 and 1850. Upon each of the latter occasions the College of Pharmacy, in New York, remonstrated against it and pointed out fully its absurdity. Carbonic Acid Water of that strength, it was stated, would not be acceptable as a drink to any one familiar with it, {41} nor refreshing to the sick. The formula was also shown to be defective in several essential particulars, and where it was not defective it was wrong. But our remonstrance seems not to have been vouchsafed “even the cold respect of a passing glance.”

The formula is defective in not describing the vessel in which the preparation is to be made. In other processes, not so much involving the safety of those engaged in them, the vessels are specified, as “glass,” “earthen,” “iron,” &c. In this case it is indispensable that the vessel should be expressly and well adapted to the purpose. It should be of undoubted strength to sustain the pressure, and it should be of material not acted upon by the acid or water. These requisites should not be neglected. We need not concern ourselves much, to be sure, about “five times the bulk,” but to make carbonic acid water of good quality, the “receiver” should be of sufficient strength to ensure safety, and of internal material to avoid unpleasant or injurious contamination. Copper fountains, lined with tin, are mostly used. Cast iron, lined with tin, is also used, to some extent. So far the formula is defective,—in the proportion both of water and carbonic acid it is wrong. The “suitable receiver” should not be “nearly filled with water.” How near full that is, is left to the chance of different judgment in different persons; but if “nearly filled” should be understood to mean within a pint, and force enough could be applied, “the receiver” would burst before the “five times” could be got into it, though the breaking in this case would not, probably, be attended with danger to the operator, because it would be merely a dead strain without much expansive force.

I do not propose to detail the process of making soda or mineral water, “Carbonic Acid Water,” as it is properly called in the Pharmacopœia. The minutiæ of its preparation may well be left to the experience and practice of the operator. But the formula given in our standard book should not be defective or wrong in prominent principles, it should accord with experience and the improvement of the times. There does not appear to {42} be any good reason for altering the formula of 1820, which was comparatively “well enough” to that of 1830, ’40 and ’50, which is of no value. After designating the description of fountain required, so far, at least, as regards strength (which ought to be equal to the pressure of twenty atmospheres), and material, it should direct it to be supplied with water to the extent of about five sevenths of its capacity, in order to allow of due admixture of gas and water, and of agitation which greatly facilitates it, and the forcing carbonic acid into it to the extent of at least twelve times the bulk of the water. Thirteen or fourteen times is often employed for draught, and seventeen or eighteen times for bottling. It may be, as it has been, said that “a formula for this preparation is not of great moment.” It may be so; it may, perhaps, as safely be left to the skill of the manufacturer and the taste of the consumer, as “Mistura Spiritus Vini Gallici;” but “if it be worth doing at all, it is worth doing well;” if placed in the Pharmacopœia, it should be in accordance with knowledge, and the experience of practical men.

THE SOLUTION OF ARSENITE OF POTASSA has been made by some Apothecaries, with myself, for several years, by substituting 92 grs. of bicarbonate of potassa, as the equivalent of 64 grs. of the carbonate, by which we feel more confident of obtaining a definite compound than by the employment of the Carbonate, as generally procured, which mostly contains silica and other contaminations. The resulting compound is quite satisfactory, and keeps well. We also omit the compound spirit of lavender, making up the measure of a pint with water. Our object in this is two-fold. The solution is more permanent, according to our observation, and the compound spirit of lavender only renders it (if anything) more attractive in taste and smell, to children and ignorant persons.

In making MISTURA FERRI COMPOSITA, it is peculiarly necessary to proceed exactly according to rule, both in the order of its components and in the method of adding them, to produce a correct result. In the Pharmacopœia the six ingredients are set down thus:— {43}

• “Take of Myrrh a drachm.
• Carbonate of Potassa twenty-five grains.
• Sulphate of Iron, in powder, a scruple.
• Spirit of Lavender half a fluid ounce.
• Sugar a drachm.
• Rose Water seven fluid ounces and a half.”

We are directed to rub the first with the last, “and then mix with these” the fourth, the fifth, the second, and “lastly,” the third.

In the written process for making a mixture, which more than most others, requires exact method, and the adding of each of its numerous components in its right order, it would seem to be desirable, for the sake of perspicuity, to set them down in the order in which they are to be used. Here we have to chase about, forwards and backwards, for the one wanted next, and to read over and over the directions, to make sure of getting them right; for few of us make this mixture so often as to be perfectly familiar with the process, without referring to the text. It is not less awkward in this case from the directions chancing to be over leaf. But the formula is otherwise defective, I think, not being quite equal to that of 1830, in which the rose water and spirit of lavender are directed to be added together. Not only should these be mixed before using, but the myrrh, carbonate of potassa and sugar should be triturated well together, and rubbed with successive portions of the mixed liquids, effecting thereby a better solution of the myrrh. The mixture, then complete, except the sulphate of iron, should be put into the vial, and the salt should, by all means, be directed to be selected in clear crystals, to avoid any per salt of iron; it should be quickly powdered in a clean mortar, and added to the contents of the vial. The result is a bluish colored mixture, soon changing to olive green. If the sulphate of iron be not properly selected, or if it be rubbed in the mortar, as inferred from the formula, the mixture is more or less brown and proportionably deteriorated. Of course, we should not “take sulphate of iron in powder.” {44}

In giving directions for making a compound, something, certainly, is to be expected from the knowledge and skill of the manipulator. But essential points should not be left to him, and a formula for a mixture, probably not very often made by Apothecaries throughout our country towns, should be set down so clearly, that a person competent to put up mixtures generally, could make this one the first time he was called upon for it, without needless perplexity, and with sufficient detail of essentials to ensure its being made correctly. I have been frequently told by physicians that, even here, this mixture, requiring so much nicety of manipulation, does not appear to be made right one time in ten. This may not be so much the fault of the Apothecary as of his guide. He makes the mixture but seldom, and if he make it by his Pharmacopœia he does not make it as well as it can be made. For convenient use in the shop, I have the following process written out:—

• “Take of Myrrh,
• Sugar each one drachm,
• Carbonate of Potassa twenty-five grains,

Triturate together, and add gradually:

• Rose Water seven ounces and a half,
• Spirit of Lavender half an ounce, mixed.

Rub each portion well together, pour into the vial and add:

• Sulphate of Iron one scruple,

To be selected in clear crystals, powdered in a clean dry mortar, and thrown in powder into the vial; then cork, shake well, and cover the vial with buff colored paper.”

I have often thought that if our formulæ, especially those that are complicated, were given in proper rotation, placing the component first to be used, first in the list, the second next, and so on, with intermediate lines of direction, which might be in smaller type or italics, it would derogate nothing from the dignity of the book, while it would facilitate the process, and might sometimes obviate misconstruction, or neglect of particulars essential to the best result.

The consideration of some few other preparations, I must defer to another number.

{45}

LETTER ON OPIUM, &c.

[THE following letter, addressed to a Commercial House in this City, will be found to communicate some interesting information. We print it as it is written. Perhaps our readers may derive some information from the prices given; we can make nothing of them.]

CONSTANTINOPLE, May 10, 1851.

To ———— TRIESTE,

We received your honored letter, dated Messina, with great pleasure, and hasten to give you the information you desire, hoping and wishing that both an agreeable and useful connection may arise from it, for which purpose we shall not fail to give your House direct information, respecting the articles you mention. Opium is found here in different qualities, the goodness of which chiefly depends on the cons­cien­tious­ness of those who prepare it. The best quality coming from some districts of Asia consists of the pure juice, which flows spontaneously from the incisions made in the poppy heads, is inspissated and formed into little balls. It has eminently all the qualities which are requisite in good opium, and contains from 8 to 10 per cent, and more, of morphia. This sort is the most in request among the druggists in Germany and France, to be sold by retail to the apothecaries, but scarcely forms the 8th or 10th part of all the Turkish opium which comes to the market. Next to this is the ordinary quality, coming from the other provinces of Asia Minor; where in preparing it, they are less cautious, partly pressing the poppy heads, in order to get as much juice as possible, partly scraping the juice that has oozed out too hard, by which certain mucilaginous parts of the plant, and shavings of the rind get mixed up with it; in this way that kind of opium is produced, which is so often sold, and at Trieste bears the name of Tarense opium.

By this proceeding, of course, the morphia is lessened, and often in a great degree; but in the Chinese market, in proportion to which, the consumption of the article in all other countries is scarcely to be reckoned, little or no regard is paid to {46} this, which explains why the latter inferior article always brings nearly as high a price as the former pure quality. Besides these, several sorts of adulterated opium are sold, some of which are prepared, (principally for the North American market,) by mixing in the juice of the whole plant, or other substances.—The difference of the qualities would be best perceived by a collection of samples, which we should be glad to send you, if you would tell us where to direct them. The price of the aforementioned prime quality, which we call “Gúeve,” from the district which chiefly produces it, is now 10²⁄₃c. for the English pound, free on board. The current second quality, 10¹⁄₃c. The price of the adulterated is much lower, in proportion to the amount of the adulteration; which, however, in most cases, is not discernible by the exterior. The prices are, of course, principally regulated by the Chinese market; yet the more or less considerable crop produced is not without influence. So especially now, the growers show little inclination to sell, as the new plantations are endangered by a continual want of rain.—Nevertheless, probably after two months, when the new crop begins to come to market, we may be able to buy cheaper than now, if the news from China should not cause the price to rise.

As regards scammony, almost everything that has been said respecting opium is literally applicable. The difference in quality depends upon the way of preparing it, while the plant from which it is taken is always the same. The best sort is the pure dried juice, which spontaneously flows from the incisions made in the root of the plant; the next quality is produced by a strong pressure of the root. These two qualities go in commerce by the name of the 1st and 2nd scammony d’Aleppo, which name, however, is wrong, as Aleppo produces the 1st quality, but only in a very small quantity, whilst the greater part comes from several districts of Asia Minor. Then follows the so called quality of Skilip, a district that produces much, but where they have the bad habit of trying to gain in the weight, by adulterating the pure substance. The adulteration is made in several ways; the least injurious of which perhaps is, {47} that they add (as in opium), the pressed or boiled out juice of the whole plant; the not inconsiderable quantities of this sort, which are yearly brought from the interior, find a good sale in Europe, which would hardly last, if a sufficient quantity of the before mentioned finer qualities were to be had. Besides these, a number of other sorts are sold in Europe, under the name of Smyrna scammony, which consist of a hard and heavy mass, but contain only a very small part of the real scammony.

With this article it would also be necessary, as we said with the opium, to explain our statements by sending you samples, which we will do if you desire it. The finest prime sort is seldom found, and is now entirely wanting. It would sell readily at the rate of 21¹⁄₂c. per pound, English. The good second quality brings according to the sort, from 18c. to 15³⁄₄c. a pound, free on board, but is also now very scarce, and will, in the course of two or three months, be more abundant in fresh quality. Of the Skilip sort, there are several quantities in the market, according to the quality, at the price of 13 to 10s. 10d. an English pound, free on board.

Of the oil of roses, there is, properly speaking, only one genuine quality, with only little difference in odor, but with remarkable variation in the facility with which it congeals, which property is almost generally considered an essential proof of its being genuine, but without reason; as we have ascertained by much experience, during a long sojourn in the country where it is produced. Several reasons may contribute to this difference in congealing, but the chief one may be considered, the difference of soil, and method of preparation. We give our principal attention to the article, and have founded an establishment at Kissanlik, where it is chiefly produced, through which alone we make our purchases, and must do so, in order to have the attar genuine, as we have experienced, that all the essence without exception that is sold here, second hand, is far from pure.

The common method and the one now almost exclusively adopted of adulterating it, with geranium essence, may be known {48} to you, and that it really is the most in use, you may conclude, from the price of the genuine article having been for a long time much higher at the places of production, than the price of that which is sold as prime in Europe. This fact has only lately been noticed in Europe, therefore in the price current of Trieste, for instance, you will find the genuine article noted, beside the prime article, with a considerable difference of price. What at London is designated as prime quality, is only a mixture of 60 to 70 per cent. essence of rose, with 30 to 40 per cent. essence of geranium. Samples will also prove this to you, more clearly. The price of the genuine attar is, to-day, 22³⁄₄c. for an ounce, at 10 drachms, according to which the English price current may be understood; in six or eight weeks after the preparation of the new crop, we hope to buy cheaper, but at what rate we cannot yet judge, as this depends on the produce of the crop. There is some cheaper and adulterated, and which is only bought by ignorant persons. This oil comes by caravans from the interior of Asia, and in spite of all our inquiries, we could not succeed in getting any sure information, about the plant which produces it, or the method of preparation.

ON CHLOROFORM AS A SOLVENT. BY M. P. H. LEPAGE, OF GISORS.

Hitherto, attention has been mainly directed to the manufacture of chloroform, and the study of its anesthetic properties. Many chemists, however, have casually noticed the power it possesses of dissolving essential oils, fixed fatty matters, camphor resins, (even those which dissolve with difficulty in alcohol and ether, such as copal resin, for example,) iodine, bromine, vegetable alkalies, india rubber insoluble in alcohol, and but slightly soluble in ether, and, finally, gutta percha, insoluble according to M. Vogel, in both these menstrua. {49}

Having lately had occasion to experiment with chloroform, upon a variety of substances, I have thought it might be useful, with a view to its further application, to make known the results obtained.

• 1. Resinous substances, gum mastic, colophony, elemi, balsam of tolu, benzoin, are very soluble cold, in all proportions of chloroform and their solutions in this liquid form varnishes, some of which might, I think, be usefully applied, when the price of chloroform shall be diminished.
• Gum copal and caoutchouc dissolve equally and almost entirely in this liquid, but more easily hot than cold.
• Amber, sandarac, and shellac, are only partially soluble in chloroform, whether hot or cold. The mixture of sandarac and chloroform separates into two layers; the lower one which holds in solution a certain quantity of resin, is fluid, whilst the upper one is of a gelatinous consistence.
• Olibanum dissolves with difficulty in it, either hot or cold.
• Gum guaiac and scammony resin, dissolve very easily in it; whilst on the contrary, pure jalap resin is insoluble; it becomes soft by contact with the liquid, and then floats on the top, as a pitch like mass. When the resin is very pure, the lower layer of chloroform has an amber color.
• Gamboge and gum dragon’s blood, also yield some of their substance to chloroform. The solution of gamboge being of a magnificent golden yellow, and that of the dragon’s blood of a beautiful red, these two substances might be advantageously used as varnishes.
• 2. Fixed Fats. Oils of olive, œillettes, almond, ricinus, cod, rape, euphorbia, lathyris, croton tiglium, lard, tallow, the concrete oils of palm and cocoa, spermaceti, and probably all the fixed fats, dissolve remarkably and in all proportions in chloroform. As to wax, according to M. Vogel, six or eight parts of chloroform added to one part of this substance when pure, dissolve only .25, whence this chemist supposes, that whenever wax treated with this liquid in the above {50} named proportions, leaves less than .75, it may be considered as having been mixed with tallow or stearic acid.
• I placed in a small tube, seven grammes of chloroform, and one gramme of pure white wax, shaking the mixture violently, at the end of six or eight hours the piece of wax had entirely disappeared, and the contents of the tube resembled an emulsion. The whole was passed through a filter of the weight of one gramme. A transparent liquid passed, which, exposed to spontaneous evaporation, left a residuum of pillular consistence weighing twenty-five centigrammes; whilst the filter which retained the portion of undissolved wax, left to the action of the air, until it no longer lost weight, was found to weigh one gramme, seventy-five centigrammes. The result of this experiment therefore, confirms the statement of the learned chemist of Munich.
• 3. Volatile oils. All are soluble in chloroform.
• 4. Simple metalloid bodies. We already know that iodine and bromine are soluble in chloroform, I have further ascertained that phosphorus and sulphur are slightly so.
• 5. Immediate neutral principles. Stryacine, piperine, naphtaline, cholesterine, are very soluble in chloroform. Pricrotoxine, slightly so. Parafine will only dissolve when warm, and on cooling, again floats on the top of the liquid. Amygdaline, phloridzine, salicine, digitaline, cynisin, urea, hematin, gluten, sugar, &c., are insoluble in it.
• 6. Organic acids. Benzoic and hippuric acids are very soluble in chloroform. Tannin is but slightly soluble, tartaric, citric, oxalic and gallic acids are insoluble in it.
• 7. Organic alkalies. Quinine, pure veratrine, emetine and narcotine are easily soluble in chloroform. Strychnine dissolves pretty well in it, and the solution, even when not saturated (one décigramme to two grammes of chloroform, for instance,) deposits, in twenty-four hours, a number of little tuberculiform crystals, which may perhaps be a modification of this alkaloid (an isomeric state), for their solution in dilute acids has appeared to me less bitter, and less easily precipitable by {51} ammonia than that of ordinary strychnine. Brucine is also quite soluble in chloroform. Morphine and cinchonine are insoluble.
• 8. Salts of organic acids. Tartar emetic, the acetates of potash and soda, lactate of iron, citrate of iron, valerianate of zinc, and acetate of lead do not dissolve in chloroform.
• 9. Salts with organic bases. Sulphate and hydrochlorate of strychnine, are tolerably soluble in chloroform, whilst sulphate of quinine, hydrochlorate and sulphate of morphine are insoluble.
• 10. Haloid salts. Iodide and bromide of potassium, the chlorides of sodium, potassium and ammonia, the iodides of mercury and lead, the yellow prussiate of potash, the cyanides of mercury and potassium do not dissolve in chloroform. Chloride of mercury is very soluble.
• 11. Oxysalts. The iodates, chlorates, nitrates, phosphates, sulphates, chromates, borates, arseniates and alkaline hyposulphates are completely insoluble in chloroform. The same may be said of nitrate of silver, sulphate of copper, and probably of all the metallic oxysalts.

The above facts prove: 1st That chloroform dissolves, with a very few exceptions, all bodies soluble in ether; but as it dissolves copal, caoutchouc, &c., much better than this latter substance, this property will become serviceable when the price of chloroform shall be lowered.

2nd. That contrary to what was formerly believed, it dissolves shellac much less easily than alcohol.

3rd. That it may be employed instead of ether, to separate quinine from cinchonine, narcotine from morphine, guaiac resin from jalap resin, which substances are often found mixed together in commerce.

4th. That it dissolves in large proportions strychnine, brucine, and emetine, alkaloids, which are almost insoluble in ether.

5th. Finally, that it does not dissolve tartaric, citric, oxalic and gallic acids, amygdaline, phloridzine, salicine, digitaline, hematine, gluten, &c., all which bodies are soluble in alcohol, {52} nor the chlorides, bromides, iodides, or nitrates, salts, all soluble in the same vehicle.

I think it right also to add the following observation, because it tends to corroborate a fact recently stated in the Journal de Chimie Médicale, by my friend and former colleague, M. Aujendre, assayer at the mint of Constantinople, namely that chloroform possesses antiseptic properties. Having accidentally left in a half filled, but corked bottle, during a month (from April 10, to May 12), in my laboratory, where the variations of temperature are very frequent, some milk mixed with about a hundredth part of chloroform, I was rather surprised, on examining the milk, to find that it had preserved the fluidity and homogeneity of the liquid when freshly drawn, and that it could even be boiled without turning.—Journal de Chimie Médicale in L’Abeille Médicale.

[NOTE.—Chloroform will preserve Anatomical and Pathological Specimens without changing their color, or apparently their texture.]—ED. N. Y. JOURNAL OF PHARMACY.

REPORT OF A JOINT COM­MIT­TEE OF THE PHIL­A­DEL­PHIA COUN­TY MED­I­CAL SO­CI­E­TY AND THE PHIL­A­DEL­PHIA COL­LEGE OF PHAR­MA­CY, REL­A­TIVE TO PHY­SIC­IANS’ PRE­SCRIP­TIONS. (Published by order of the Board of Trus­tees of the Phil­a­del­phia Coll. of Pharm.)

The joint Committees of the Philadelphia County Medical Society, and of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, appointed for the purpose of considering the means best adapted to prevent the occurrence of mistakes in the compounding of the prescriptions of Physicians by Apothecaries, beg leave to report that they have given to the subject all the attention that its importance demands, and present the following hints as the results of their joint deliberations. They have taken the liberty of adding, also, a few general hints on the relations that should exist between physicians and phar­ma­ceu­tists.

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A. In Respect to Physicians.

1. Physicians should write their prescriptions carefully and legibly, making use of good paper, and, whenever possible, of pen and ink. When obliged to write with a pencil, they should take the precaution to fold the prescription twice, so as to prevent its being defaced.

2. The nomenclature of the United States Pharmacopœia is becoming annually more in favor with phar­ma­ceu­tists; a statement attested by the fact that 1500 copies of the book of Latin Labels for shop furniture, published by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, have been disposed of within three years. Physicians are also becoming more alive to the merits of our national Codex, and they are respectfully urged to familiarize themselves with its nomenclature, and to adhere to it strictly in their prescriptions.

3. The numerous treatises on Materia Medica, Pharmacy and the Practice of Medicine, of English origin, that are reprinted in this country, not­with­stand­ing they are generally interlarded with the formulæ of our own Pharmacopœia, tend, nevertheless, very much to confuse the physician and apothecary, in the use and exact meaning of terms in prescriptions. To obviate the difficulties thus occasioned, the physician should, when he prescribes a medicine, which is not officinal, nor in common use, state on his prescription, either in a note at the bottom, or within parenthesis, following the article, the authority or work from whence it is derived, as “Griffith’s Formulary,”—“Ellis’ Formulary,”—“Braithwaite’s Retrospect,” etc.

4. Physicians would lessen the risk of errors in their prescriptions, and increase the chances of their detection should they be made, by observing the following hints.

1st. Write the name of the patient at the top of the prescription, unless a good reason prevents this being done; in which case, it should be expressed as for Mr. G—, Mrs. R—, or Mrs. S.’s child, or for Master T—, so as to convey to the apothecary some idea of the age of the patient. {54}

2d. The date and name of the physician or his initials, should always be appended, and, whenever practical, the dose and mode of administering the medicine directed.

3d. When an unusually large dose of an active medicine is prescribed, as opium, morphia, elaterium, strychnia, etc., let such names be put in italics, and the quantity or quantities repeated in writing enclosed within a parenthesis; thus:—R Morphiæ Sulphatis grs. vj. (six grains.) Div. in chart. vj.

4th. When an active substance is to be used externally, it should be so stated on the prescription; thus, “For external application”—“To be applied to the part as directed,” etc.

5th. The quantities of each article should be placed in a line with the name, and not below it and in using the Roman numerals, the i’s should be dotted correctly.

6th. The occasional practice of writing the directions intended for the patient in latin, and especially in abbreviated latin, is uncalled for, and attended with some risk; it is far safer to write them in English, and without abbreviation or the use of figures, unless these are well and distinctly formed.

B. In Respect to the Apothecary.

1st. The apothecary should hesitate to dispense a prescription, the handwriting of which is so imperfect as to render the writer’s meaning doubtful—especially if it involves agents of a poisonous or irritating character—unless he is able, from collateral circumstances, to satisfy himself of the intent of the prescriber. In such a case he should delay the delivery of the medicine to the patient until he can see the physician, and in doing so he should avoid committing the latter, by agreeing to send the medicine when it is ready.

2d. The apothecary is justified in the same means of delay, if he, after deliberate consideration, believes that the physician has inadvertently made a mistake in the quantity or dose of the article or articles prescribed; always keeping in view the physician’s reputation as well as his own. Every respectful application, in such cases, to a physician, should be met in good faith {55} and with kind feeling, even though no error should prove to exist.

3d. In his demeanor and language, the apothecary should cautiously avoid compromising the physician, unless it be unavoidable, in which case honesty is the best policy, and the patient or his messenger should be told that it will be necessary to have an interview with the physician previously to compounding his prescription.

4th. The apothecary is not justifiable in making inquiries relative to the patient or his disease, or remarks relative to the character or properties of the medicines prescribed, that are uncalled for, or likely to convey a wrong impression, through an ignorant messenger, to the patient, excepting it be done in a case where he has doubts in regard to the prescription, and wishes to satisfy himself, and here he should act with great discreetness.

5th. When an apothecary is asked his opinion of a physician’s prescription in a manner that indicates want of faith in the prescriber, he should waive the question, unless by a direct answer he should be able to restore that confidence. When asked the nature of the ingredients, he should be guided in his answer by circumstances, avoiding to give the desired information, when he believes it would be contrary to the wish of the physician, or attended with injurious consequences. In other cases he should use his own judgment.

6th. Physicians being often unacquainted with practical pharmacy, pay little attention to the order in which the several articles entering into a prescription are arranged, with the view to facilitate the operations of dispensing. It hence becomes the first duty of the apothecary carefully to read the prescription and fix the proper order in his mind. He should, at the same time, acquire the habit of considering the quantities ordered in relation to the usual doses, and, also, the general bearing of the prescription; and a constant resort to this practice, based on due knowledge, must almost inevitably detect mistakes, if any have been made. {56}

7th. Apothecaries should accustom their assistants to study prescriptions in this light, and to acquire such a knowledge of the doses and therapeutical uses of medicines as shall serve to guide them in avoiding errors.

8th. The apothecary, when engaged in dispensing a prescription, should, as far as possible, avoid mental preoccupation, and give his attention fully to his task. He should acquire the habit of always examining the label of the bottle before using its contents, and he should satisfy himself that he has read the prescribed quantity correctly, by referring to the prescription anew before weighing out each article. It is also, a useful precaution to have bottles containing mineral or vegetable poisons, distinguished by some prominent mark.

9th. As the conscientious discharge of his duty should be the aim of every apothecary, seeing that on his correct action depends, in no slight degree, the usefulness of the physician, no pains should be spared to secure the efficiency of the medicines dispensed, whether they be drugs or preparations. The latter should always be prepared of full strength, and according to the formulæ recognized by the United States Pharmacopœia, unless when otherwise specially ordered.

10th. The apothecary should always label, and number correctly, all medicine dispensed by him on the prescription of a physician; he should, also, invariably, transcribe on the label, in a plain legible hand writing, the name of the patient, the date of the prescription, the directions intended for the patient, and the name or the initials of the prescriber.

11th. The original prescription should always be retained by the apothecary, whose warrantee it is, in case of error on the part of the prescriber. When a copy is requested, if, as in many instances, no objection can be urged, it should be a fac simile in language and symbols, and not a translation.

12th. In no instance is an apothecary justifiable in leaving his business in charge of boys, or incompetent assistants—or in allowing such to compound prescriptions, excepting under his immediate and careful supervision. {57}

13th. In justice to his sense of the proper limits of his vocation, to the medical profession, and to his customers, the apothecary should abstain from prescribing for diseases, excepting in those emergencies, which occasionally occur, demanding immediate action, or, in those every day unimportant cases where to refuse council would be construed as a confession of ignorance, calculated to injure the reputation of the apothecary, and would be attended with no advantage to either physician or patient.

14th. The sale of quack or secret medicines, properly so called, constitutes a considerable item in the business of some apothecaries. Many of the people are favorably impressed towards that class of medicines, and naturally go to their apothecaries for them. It is this which has caused many apothecaries to keep certain of these nostrums, who are ready and willing to relinquish the traffic in them, but for the offence that a refusal to supply them to their customers would create. At present all that the best disposed apothecary can be expected to do, is to refrain from the manufacture himself, of quack and secret medicines; to abstain from recommending them, either verbally or by exhibiting show bills, announcing them for sale, in his shop or windows; and to discourage their use, when appealed to.

15th. Having in view the welfare of the community and the advancement of pharmaceutic science and interest, it is all important that the offices of prescribing and compounding medicines should be kept distinct, in this city and surrounding districts. All connection with, or moneyed interest in apothecary stores, on the part of physicians, should, therefore, be discountenanced. With respect to the pecuniary understanding said to exist, in some instances, between apothecaries and physicians, we hold, that no well disposed apothecary or physician would be a party to such contract, and consider the code of Ethics of the College of Pharmacy and the Constitution of the Philadelphia County Medical Society as sufficiently explicit on this subject. {58}

16th. In reference to the patronage on the part of Physicians of particular apothecaries, we are of opinion, as a general rule, that Graduates in Pharmacy should be encouraged in preference to others of the same date of business, and whilst admitting the abstract right of the physician to send his prescription where he pleases, we think that justice should dictate the propriety of his encouraging the nearest apothecary deserving of his confidence and that of the patient.

• Committee of County Medical Society:
  • D. FRANCES CONDIE,
  • WM. MAYBURY,
  • G. EMERSON.
• Committee of Phila. College of Pharmacy:
  • WILLIAM PROCTER, JR.,
  • H. C. BLAIR,
  • JOHN H. ECKY.

[We republish the above Report from the American Journal of Pharmacy, as its “hints” are, in the main, practical and judicious. On one or two points, however, we differ from the author of the report. We do not think (B. Article 4th,) that the apothecary is ever justified in making inquiries relative to the disease of a patient. If his very inquiries may “convey a wrong impression to the patient, through an ignorant messenger,” how can that ignorant messenger give information regarding the disease of a patient, which can guide the apothecary, himself not supposed to be versed in therapeutics, in judging of the correctness of a prescription? The apothecary, where he is in doubt, may inquire the dose and the age of the patient, and then, if he deems necessary, may have recourse to the physician himself. And in regard to the next article, when the apothecary is asked the “nature of the ingredients” in a prescription, it is wisest to refer the patient, as a rule, to the prescriber.]—ED. JOURNAL OF PHARMACY.

NOTE ON THE DIVISION OF GUM RESINS IN POTIONS, AND IN DIACHYLON PLAISTER.

At a recent meeting of the Society of Pharmacy, M. Poulenc, submitted a method which he has employed for eight years in his laboratory, for suspending gum resins in medical prescriptions. It is well known how much difficulty there is in suspending either in a mixture, or lotion, one or more grammes of gum ammoniac, assafœtida, myrrh, &c. In dividing the {59} assafœtida with yolk of egg alone, the manipulation is long; but if instead of the egg, we employ 6 or 8 drops of oil of sweet almonds per gramme, the gum resin, even when entire, is easily reduced; when the oil is well mixed, and the paste as homogeneous as possible, a little water is first added, then gradually the quantity of the prescribed vehicle, as for the mucilage of a linctus; the product of this operation will be a speedy and very perfect emulsion. One of the advantages of this modus faciendi, is, that the product can be warmed without danger of coagulation, besides which, it is generally more easy to obtain a few drops of oil of sweet almonds, or any other kind of oil than the yolk of an egg.

M. Poulenc has recently applied the same method to the manufacture of diachylon plaister, in the following manner: take some entire pieces of gum resin, and triturate them briskly in an iron mortar, after which in a marble, or porcelain mortar, mix in the oil, and add a sufficient quantity of water to obtain an emulsion about as thick as liquid honey; strain this through a coarse cloth; there will be hardly anything left on the cloth, and the strained substance will be perfectly homogeneous. Evaporate in an earthen vessel, by the water-bath, the water which had been mixed in, and when the mass presents the appearance of a soft extract, the other ingredients of the plaister may be mixed in with the greatest ease. This plaister presents a very beautiful appearance, and exhales a very decided odour of the gum resins employed in its composition. Should it be feared that the small quantity of oil, might weaken the consistence of the plaister, M. Poulenc thinks that the quantity of turpentine might, without inconvenience, be slightly diminished.

We have tried with success the method of M. Poulenc for emulsions with gum resins; as to its further use in the preparation of diachylon plaister, we cannot speak with certainty.—There is a chemical question, which, in all cases governs the preparation of phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal agents.—Stan. Martin, L’Abeille Medicale.

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ESSENCE OF JARGONELLE PEAR. BY THE EDITOR OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL.

The liquid sold under this name, and which has been for some time in use by confectioners, is the acetate of the oxide of amyle.

It is prepared with great facility by submitting to distillation a mixture of one part of amylic alcohol (better known by the name of oil of grain,) two parts of acetate of potash, and one part of oil of vitriol. The distilled liquid is to be washed with alkaline water, dehydrated by chloride of calcium, and afterwards rectified by distillation from protoxide of lead.

Its properties are thus stated by Dumas:—In the state of purity it is a colorless, very limpid, volatile liquor, which boils at 257° F. It possesses an ethereal aromatic odor, somewhat resembling acetic ether; its sp. gr. is less than that of water. It is insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol, ether, oil of grain, &c. Concentrated sulphuric acid does not color it in the cold; but by heating the mixture, it becomes reddish-yellow, and when the temperature is elevated, destructive reaction takes place, the mixture blackens and evolves sulphurous acid. Placed in contact with a watery solution of potash it is very slowly altered; but an alcoholic solution of this base rapidly decomposes, an alkaline acetate is formed, and the oil of grain regenerated. Its ultimate composition is

But its proximate composition is amyle, (an hypothetical radical) oxygen, and acetic acid.

Its formula is thus stated by Brande, AylO, AcO₃; by Fownes, AylO, C₄ H₃ O₃.

Amylic alcohol, or oil of grain, called by the Germans fuselol; is the hydrated oxide of amyle, AylO, HO. It is {61} largely produced in the distillation of spirit from corn. It is officinal in the Dublin Pharmacopœia, where it is termed “Alcohol amylicum—Fusel oil,” and is employed to yield valerianic acid in the process for making “Sodæ Valerianas.”

From information which we have received, we have reason to believe that the use, by very young children, of articles of confectionery, flavored with essence of pear, is not without danger. A child on two occasions became partially comatose, with livid lips and feeble pulse, after eating some confectionery which it was calculated contained about one drop of the essence.—London Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Journal, November, ’51.

On the Growth of Plants in Various Gases, Especially substituting Carbonic Oxide, Hydrogen, and light Carburetted Hydrogen for the Nitrogen of the Air.

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EDITORIAL.

“AN ACT RELATING TO THE SALE OF DRUGS AND MEDICINES.”

“The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1st. It shall not be lawful for any Physician, Druggist, Apothecary, or any person or persons dealing in Drugs or Medicines, or engaged in preparing any compound to be given or administered as a medicine, to offer the same for sale without first affixing or attaching thereto, in a conspicuous manner, a written or printed recipe in the English language, stating the drug or drugs, medicine or medicines, or ingredients of which it is composed, together with the proportions of each.

SECTION 2. Any person or persons violating the preceding section of this Act, shall be considered guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined for each offence in a sum not less than ten dollars, nor exceeding one hundred dollars, or be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months.

SECTION 3. This Act shall not take effect until the first day of July, 1852.

Albany, February 6th, 1852.”

On reading this bill, carelessly, we thought that it was intended to be levelled at nostroms and quack medicines. If it were so, however laudable the motives of its originators, its policy is much to be doubted. The public are not prepared for it; it would, at once, raise a clamour about selfish motives and private interests; it would never be enforced: and would tend to bring more moderate and judicious legislation into contempt. But a careful perusal of the bill shows that it applies to Apothecaries and venders of medicines in the ordinary prosecution of their business. Should it become a law, no Apothecary could sell six cents worth of paregoric, or an ounce of spiced syrup of rhubarb, unless he accompanies the article sold with a detailed enumeration of the substances composing it, with the proportions of each “written or printed in the English language,” without rendering himself liable to fine and imprisonment! It is not necessary to characterize such a law to Druggists. It is worthy of notice, however, as an instance of that spirit of pseudo reform which is at present so rampant. As a general rule, we believe, Physicians have no objection to their patients knowing the remedies they prescribe, particularly when the patients themselves are people of sense and information, but in many instances, of what use would it be to the sick man and his conclave of friends to be able to spell {63} out the ingredients of a prescription? Would it help them to a knowledge of its effects? Are they the best judges of its propriety? And if so, had not the law better proscribe educated Physicians altogether?

And then “written or printed in the English language”! The framers of such a law could not be expected to recognize a National or any other Pharmacopœia; which of the twenty trivial names, that in different times and different places have been bestowed upon the same article, should we choose? Should we follow strictly the modern chemical nomenclature, or should we take that of a few years back or should we go to the fountain head and return to the names of the old Alchemists? The whole matter is unworthy serious comment.

COFFINISM.

CAMPHOR AS A STIMULANT.

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CAVENDISH SOCIETY.

CAVENDISH SOCIETY, LONDON.—PRESIDENT—Prof. Thomas Graham.

VICE PRESIDENTS—Dr. Faraday, Prof. Brande, Sir Robert Kane, Arthur Aiken, and others.

COUNCIL—Jabob Bell, Dr. Pereira, Dr. Golding Bird, Robert Warrington, Alfred S. Taylor, and others.

TREASURER—Dr. Henry Beaumont Leeson.

SECRETARY—Theophilus Redwood.

The Cavendish Society was instituted for the promotion of Chemistry, and its allied sciences, by the diffusion of the literature of these subjects. The society effects its object by the translation of recent works and papers of merit; by the publication of valuable original works which would not otherwise be printed, from the slender chance of their meeting with a remunerative sale, and by the occasional republication or translation of such ancient or earlier modern works, as may be considered interesting or useful to the members of the Society.

Heretofore persons in this country were admitted to membership on application to Mr. Redwood the general Secretary of the Society, at London. To facilitate communication between the Society and its American members, the undersigned has been appointed Local Secretary, at Philadelphia, and to whom application should be made. The payment of five dollars U. S. Currency or its equivalent, annually, entitles each member to a copy of every work published by the Society for the period during which their membership continues. No member shall be entitled to the Society’s publications unless his annual subscription shall have been duly paid, and it is to be understood that the charges for duty and freight on the books arising from their shipment to this country are to be paid to the Secretary on delivery.

The number of Works published will necessarily depend on the number of annual subscribers; hence it is of great importance to the individual interest of the members that their aggregate number should be large. The Society now issue two or three volumes yearly. The books are handsomely printed on a uniform plan, for members only, their publication being conducted by the Council who are elected annually by Ballot from among the members; every member having a vote.

Members by subscribing for all or any of the past years, may get the works issued during those years except the first volume, published by the Society in 1848, entitled “Chemical reports and Memoirs by Thomas Graham, F. R. S.” which is now out of print. The other volume of that year which is the 1st volume of Gmelin’s Handbook of Chemistry, can be obtained by paying half the subscription.

The subscribers for 1849 are entitled to the 2d and 3d volumes of Gmelin’s Chemistry—and the Life of Cavendish by Dr. George Wilson of Edinburgh. The subscribers for 1850 receive the 4th and 5th volumes of Gmelin’s work, and those of the Current year will receive the 1st volume of Lehmann’s Physiological Chemistry translated by Dr. Day, and the 6th volume of Gmelin.

As the sole object of the Cavendish Society is the encouragement of an important branch of scientific literature, all who feel interested in Chemistry should assist in that object by subscribing, or using their influence with others to extend the list of members, which now amounts to more than 850. All those who may desire to become members, to examine the works already issued, or to gain further information regarding the Society, are requested to apply to the undersigned.

WILLIAM PROCTER, JR.

166 South 9th Street, Philadelphia. October, 1851.

{65}

NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. MARCH, 1852.

ON THE HEAVY OIL OF WINE. BY EDWARD N. KENT.

Having occasion to use a little of the officinal oil of wine, I applied to one of our wholesale Druggists, who furnished me with an article, which I found to be useless. On testing a sample, it mixed with water and produced a slight milkiness. It was evidently alcohol, containing a trace only of oil. The price of this was $4 per pound.

Samples were then obtained from all of the wholesale Druggists from whom it could be procured, and each of these was proved to be equally worthless, as the results of the following tests will show.

The second sample, when agitated with water, separated into two portions, one of which was aqueous and the other ethereal. The latter exposed to the air, to separate the ether by spontaneous evaporation, left a residue which was completely soluble in water, and proved to be alcohol. The price of this mixture of alcohol and ether was $4,50 per pound.

The third sample when agitated with water, became slightly turbid, and was dissolved. It had a pale yellow color, ethereal odor, and the sp. gr. was .909. A portion of it, exposed twelve hours to spontaneous evaporation in a graduated measure, lost one-eighth of its bulk, and on the application of a taper, burned with a blue flame. It is quite evident that this also was alcohol with a small portion of ether, and a trace of oil. The price {66} of this was $4,50 per pound, and it was labelled “Ol. Aetherii.” It bore also the name of the importers.

The fourth sample, when agitated with water, became slightly turbid, and dissolved. It was colorless, had an ethereal odor, and the sp. gr. was .844. This also burned with a blue flame. The price of this worthless article was $6,50 per pound. It was labelled “Ol. Vini Pur,” and bore also the name of the London manufacturer.

It may be well to remark, that the officinal oil of wine, when agitated with water, separates and falls to the bottom, being heavier than water, whence its name. The sp. gr. of the pure oil is not less than 1.05, and it has a yellow color.

The labels on the third and fourth samples above mentioned, are alone not sufficient evidence to prove that they were imported, but, in addition to the label, I was informed that one of them was recently imported, and also that the manufacturing Chemists in this country do not make or sell the oil of wine.—In view of this statement (if true) the question naturally arises: How did the above worthless articles pass the Custom House under the existing law for “the prevention of the importation of spurious and adulterated drugs?”

I have examined another sample which is not offered for sale as oil of wine, but as it has properties resembling more nearly the officinal oil than either of the four samples above mentioned, it might possibly be confounded with the oil of wine. This sample had an agreeable vinous odor, and a yellow color.—When agitated with water a considerable quantity of oil separated, which was lighter than water. A portion of the original oil, distilled in a glass retort with a thermometer passed through a cork, inserted into the tubulare, gave about half its bulk of a colorless liquid below 180º F., which proved to be alcohol containing a small quantity of acetic ether and œnanthic ether.—The residue left in the retort had the properties of a mixture of œnanthic ether and œnanthic acid. The above article has been, extensively used (in connection with acetic ether) for the {67} manufacture of factitious brandy, and is sold for about $1,50 per ounce.

After having tested samples of all the different articles offered for sale under the name of “oil of wine” by the wholesale Druggists in New York, without being able to find either of them worthy of the name, I prepared a little for my own use, by the following process, which is that of the London Pharmacopœia:

2 lbs. oil of vitriol were carefully mixed with 1 lb. commercial alcohol, and distilled very slowly in a glass retort. The product consisted of two portions, the lightest of which was an ethereal solution of oil of wine measuring 6 oz. This was exposed to the air for twenty-four hours to remove the ether by spontaneous evaporation. The residue, washed with a little dilute solution of potash and dried, was pure “Heavy Oil of Wine,” and weighed half an ounce. The quantity obtained, though small, corresponds exactly with the proportion obtained by Hennell at the Apothecaries’ Hall, London, viz: 17 oz. oil of wine from 34 lbs. alcohol, and 68 lbs. oil of vitriol.

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.

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.

It is a common remark that the late law, passed by Congress, relating to the introduction or importation of adulterated and inferior drugs, has produced a more desirable state of things in {70} our community, by opening the eyes of consumers to the fact that inferior drugs are imported and are consumed. This is only in part true. An improved state of public opinion first caused the law to be passed; this, in connection with the law when passed, caused a further progress. The stone, thus set in motion, will no doubt roll on till an entire revolution takes place both with venders and consumers.

It is not to be supposed that the person who swallows a dose of medicine dreams that it is not of good quality, or that he would hesitate in the value of six cents when purchasing his dose, between the best of its kind and that which is comparatively inert. The root of this great evil, viz: the purchasing, selling, and administering inferior medicines is ignorance. The patient can have little or no knowledge of the efficacy of what is given to him to take, and to the shame of a large portion of the medical profession be it spoken, the doctor knows but little more. I speak with confidence when I say that the knowledge of the sensible properties of drugs is almost exclusively confined to the druggist and apothecary. Hence in the purchase of his supplies of medicines of the apothecary, the only guide the physician has, is the price and the word of the seller,—this ought not so to be. At this time I do not profess to offer a remedy. The object of the present communication is to offer a few practical hints to the druggist, connected with the purchase of his stock; many, if not all, desire to purchase reliable medicines, but from want of knowledge between good and bad have only the price, and the reputation of the seller to guide them.

I now propose to take up articles of general use, and suggest a few simple tests of their quality and condition, which any one can apply with such means as an ordinary drug store furnishes.

Before proceeding with this subject, however, I beg leave to urge upon every druggist and apothecary, the great importance of having, at his disposal, a set of reliable hydrometers for liquids heavier and lighter than water, and a properly constructed thermometer for determining the temperature of liquids. He will find them his right hand helps, not only for {71} detecting adulterations, but for determining the strength or quality of nearly all the liquids which come under his inspection.

Certain arbitrary terms have been applied to solutions of ammonia and ethers, such as F.; F. F.; F. F. F.; and so on. These terms were originally intended to indicate the exact strength of those liquids to which they were applied; but, unfortunately, every manufacturer has a standard of his own, indicating the value of an F, or in other words these terms mean nothing, and should be banished from the books of every intelligent dealer. The hydrometer will determine the strength accurately and beyond all question, the dealer therefore should make his purchases, estimating the strength by the specific gravity either in decimals or degrees.

In detecting adulterations of essential oils, the Hydrometer is invaluable. If the specific gravity of an oil does not accord with the standard, it is proof positive that the oil is not pure; the reverse, however, is not so clear. If the specific gravity does accord with the standard, it is not a positive proof that it is pure, for the reason that the adulteration may be of the same specific gravity as the oil itself.

The strength of acids such as muriatic, nitric, sulphuric, aqua fortis, and the like, is accurately determined by this means.

A set of these instruments, on which dependence may be placed, can be obtained at a price varying from $5 to $12.

Let the dealer apply these instruments (where applicable) to all his purchases, and he will soon find out what he sells and who deals honestly by him.

MAGNESIA (CALCINED). Nearly all that is used in this country is imported from England. The quality, not­with­stand­ing the drug law, is usually quite inferior. The impurities generally are carb. magnesia, lime, alumina and silica.

To detect carb. magnesia, put into a vial a small portion, and add two or three times its bulk of water; after mixing them well, add a small portion of sulphuric acid—effervesence will indicate the presence of a carbonate. On the addition of an {72} excess of acid, the solution should be perfectly clear; whatever is deposited is impurity of some kind; if lime is present an insoluble sulphate is formed.

The presence of moisture is indicated by the magnesia being lumpy, and when shaken, the particles do not flow among themselves easily. Good magnesia has a light, lively appearance, and is pearly white.—(TO BE CONTINUED.)

ON BLISTERING CERATE. BY EUGENE DUPUY, PARMACEUTIST, NEW YORK.

The successful researches of Robiquet in his labors on the Cantharis Vesicatoria, have demonstrated that the cristallisable neutral substance to which he gave the name of Cantharidine, is the proximate epispastic principle of the blistering cerate on which the physician depends in most cases, where an extended and yet deep revulsive action is necessary, whether it is derived from the cantharis vesicatoria or from other members of the trachelid family. The experiments of Mess. Lavini & Sobrero of Turin, have confirmed the supposition made by analogy, of the indentity which exists in the vesicating principle of all these coleopters, and there is a strong presumption that our commerce will soon be enriched with the beautiful cantharis, (C. nutalli,) abounding in the midst of our rising South Western States, and that it will eventually supersede the cantharis vesicatoria we obtain from abroad. If adulteration would not destroy, by its baneful influence, the advantageous form of complex extracts, we could obtain a desirable amelioration of our officinal cerate, by substituting for the powdered cantharides an equivalent proportion of the oleaginous liquid, with which they are saturated in the fresh state, and which is possessed of all the vesicating properties of the insect. That liquid is prepared in various parts of the Sardinian kingdom, especially at Verceil, where it is extensively used by veterinary surgeons in preference to the preparations from the powdered insect, it {73} producing deeper revulsion. It is also used, diluted in bland oleaginous substances for stimulating the activity of feeble serous exudations. As for the present we have not generally access to that natural product of the cantharis, we must select those insects in the best possible conditions, and endeavor to fix their active principle in such a manner as will diminish the liability to spontaneous volatilisation of which it is susceptible, even at ordinary temperature.

I have been for many years in the habit of preparing a blistering plaster which, I think, has some advantages over our officinal cerate, because it fixes the volatilisable principle, and at the same time rather increases than diminishes its energy.

To the officinal plastic mixture in which the powdered cantharides have been gradually incorporated, I add about 5 per cent of a mixture containing equal parts of strong acetic acid (prepared by distillation of the acetates of copper or lead), and pulverised camphor. The acetic acid transforms the cantharidine into an acetate of the same which is not volatilized at ordinary temperatures, and the camphor diminishes the symptoms of strangury which some patients have to endure when the application of a blistering plaster is resorted to. I also usually spread the blister on adhesive plaster on account of the convenient adhesion of that material.

ON THE ADULTERATION OF CERTAIN DRUGS AND THE METHODS OF DETECTING SAID ADULTERATIONS. BY C. TOWNSEND HARRIS, Demonstrator of Chemistry in the New York Medical College.

Since the establishment of the Office of Inspector of drugs in the United States custom houses, a vast amount of spurious and adulterated articles has been prevented from finding its way into our market. By reference to the report of the {74} inspector of drugs for the port of New York, through which is received the great bulk of medicinals imported into this country, some idea may be formed of the enormous quantity of spurious opium, jalap root, scammony, iodine, iodide of potassium, etc. annually introduced from abroad. We find that in ten months, from July 1848 to April 1849, inclusive, 90,000 pounds of adulterated drugs were rejected at the above named office. During the years 1848 and ’50, numerous specimens of adulterated articles were submitted to me for examination by Dr. Baily the inspector of drugs. From a long list I may select one as an instance of the impudence exhibited by foreign manufacturers, in attempting to thrust upon us their villainous compounds, “as standard articles.” I found a specimen of iodine, purporting to be pure, to contain 2 per cent. of non-volatile matter and 40 per cent. of water. The solid materials may be passed over as accidental, but the water is undoubtedly a fraudulent addition.

Beneficial as the establishment of this office may be in preventing the admission of any but genuine articles from abroad, in the present state of phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal regulations, it merely serves as a stimulus to the exercise of ingenuity at home, for producing those adulterations no longer supplied from the other side of the water. It is hardly necessary to say that rogues are to be found in every nation and in every clime, but I am justified (as I believe) in asserting that the spurious articles, at present met with in our market, are manufactured by foreigners whose métier has been destroyed by the passage of the drug bill. It is positively certain that parties who some years since conducted a factory in Brussels, from which spurious sulphate of quinine, sulphate of morphine, narcotine, &c., were palmed upon the citizens of the United States as genuine, are now at work in a city not one hundred miles distant.

How is this home adulteration to be met? The appointment of a home inspector of drugs, whose duty it should be to visit, from time to time, our apothecaries’ establishments, and to inspect the quality of the drugs therein, would be at variance {75} with republican ideas; too much like the excise law of England so obnoxious to the semi-republican inhabitants of Great Brittain. This question, however, has been sufficiently discussed by others more able than myself. The remedy for these abuses rests with the druggists themselves. Legislative enactments are useless. The present college of pharmacy which includes in its list of trustees, some of the leading phar­ma­ceu­tists of the country, has done much towards elevating the profession. It is to be hoped that the laws under which they act will be extended to other states, and that no apothecary, unless duly licensed by the society, shall have any right to pursue his profession without the diploma of the college.

It is a matter of congratulation that some houses in this city, and those doing an extensive business, and of the highest reputation, have associated with themselves partners possessing a competent knowledge of chemistry. From these houses nothing can be obtained which is not up to the standard. Our apothecaries will find it to their advantage in the end, to employ persons possessing sufficient knowledge to enable them to detect adulterations in drugs, and not only that, but to be able to prepare the most difficult articles.

I shall relate in this paper some instances of home adulterations which have recently come under my notice. I have been furnished by retail druggists in the city with several specimens of the bitartrate of potassa. The results of the examination of five different specimens are here given:

No. 5 contains a small per centage of carbonate of potassa and a considerable amount of carbonate of lime. No weighings were made, but the amount of adulteration was apparently much less than in the other cases.

I have also had occasion to examine some specimens of iodide of potassium, procured from some of the first druggists in the city.

In numerous examinations made of the bitartrate of potassa and of the iodide of potassium from foreign sources, I have never detected in the iodide of potassium more than 15 per cent of impurities, nor in the bitrate of potassa, as imported from France, more than 8 per cent. Of course the crude commercial argol always contains a small amount of tartrate of lime.

In a sample of so called “cod liver oil,” submitted to me for examination by Professor Davis, of the New York Medical College, I am unable to detect a single trace of iodine. The {77} oil is rank, almost black, and is evidently a mixture of whale oil and linseed oil; in fact it contains no cod liver oil whatever. This article has been sold by a fellow professing to be a druggist and physician.

It is certainly most important that druggists and their employers should possess a sufficient knowledge of chemical tests to enable them to detect sophistications. I propose to give hereafter the details of examinations of adulterated medicines and the simplest methods I can devise for the detection of such adulterations, and I trust others beside myself will turn their attention toward a subject so fraught with interest to the Pharmaceutist.

ON WOORARA. A NOTE READ TO THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, BY M. U. BERNARD, IN HIS OWN NAME, AND THAT OF M. PELOUZE.

Woorara is a violent poison, prepared by some of the tribes inhabiting the forests bordering the Upper Oronoco, the Rio Negro, and the Amazon.

Although the existence of this poison has been long known, very vague notions are still entertained regarding its component parts. Amongst the savages who sell or barter it, its preparation remains secret; and has only been made known through their priests or sorcerers. According to Humboldt, woorara is simply a watery extract of a creeper, belonging to the genus Strychnia. According to M. M. Boussingault and Roulin, it contains a poisonous substance, analagous to a vegetable alkali, woorarine. The information given us by M. Houdet, differs from that of M. Humboldt only in this respect, that he observes, before the extract is quite dry, the Indians of Messaya pour on it a few drops of the venom gathered from the glands of the most venomous serpents. This last circumstance is important, as we shall see that the physiological effects of woorara must {78} cause us to regard its mode of action as entirely analogous to that of venoms.

Woorara is a solid extract, black, resinous looking, soluble in water. We shall have occasion hereafter to advert to its chemical properties. Our attention will now be directed to its physiological effects when exerted on living animals. Woorara resembles venom in this, that it can be eaten, that is, taken into the digestive canal of man and other animals with impunity, whilst when introduced by puncture under the skin, or in any other part of the body, its absorption is invariably attended with fatal results in all animals. This fact we have repeatedly tested. The action of this poison is instantaneous, when it is injected directly into the blood vessels. A weak, watery solution thrown into the jugular vein of a dog or a rabbit, has always produced sudden death, the animal uttering no cry, nor manifesting any convulsive agitation. The effect on the whole organization is electric, and the vital functions are arrested as by lightning. When introduced under the skin in solution or in solid fragments, its poisonous action manifests itself more slowly, and the time is varied by the dose, the size of the animal, and its species. Other things being equal, birds die soonest, then the mammalia, and then reptiles; thus, with the same specimen, birds and mammalia die in a few minutes, whilst a reptile will survive for several hours. But death is invariably accompanied by similar, and very remarkable symptoms; in the first place, when pricked, the animal apparently feels nothing. If a bird, for example, it flies as usual, and at the end of a few seconds, when the woorara is very active, it drops dead without uttering a cry, or appearing to suffer; if it be a rabbit or a dog, it runs about as usual after the puncture, without any abnormal symptom, then, after some seconds, as if fatigued, it lies down, appears to sleep, its respiration stops, and life is terminated, without a groan or sign of pain. Rarely do we see even slight contraction of the sub-cutaneous muscles of the face and body.

On examining immediately after death, the bodies of {79} animals thus poisoned, we have always observed phenomena which indicate a complete annihilation of all the properties of the nervous system. It is generally found that when death has been sudden, the nerves retain for some time the power of reaction under the influence of mechanical or chemical excitement; if a nerve of motion be excited, convulsions supervene in the muscles to which it leads; if the skin be pinched, it causes reflex motion. But none of these are observed after death by woorara. The nerves of the still warm animal, in whom life has been extinct but a minute, are inert as if it had been dead and cold for several hours.

Again, in animals poisoned by woorara, the blood is invariably black, and frequently so changed as to coagulate with difficulty, and not to become bright on re-exposure to air.

If we compare this effect of woorara with that of the viper, we shall observe a great analogy between them, varying only in intensity. We may further remark, that woorara, like the poison of the viper, may be introduced with impunity into the intestinal canal. We might be led to suppose from its perfect innocuousness when introduced into the stomach, that it became modified, or in a word, digested by the gastric juice, so as to destroy its deleterious properties. To verify this supposition, we caused some woorara to be digested in the gastric juice of a dog, at a temperature of between 38° and 40° of centigrade. After leaving it for forty-eight hours, we introduced it by puncture into the veins of some animals, who died with the before-named symptoms; establishing the fact, that a prolonged contact with the gastric juice in no way modified its deleterious properties. This experiment has been repeated in various ways, and on the separate parts, as well as on the living animal. We made a dog, in whose stomach we had formed a fistulous opening, swallow some fragments of woorara mixed with his food; after a little time we obtained some of his gastric juice, and on analysis found it to resemble in every respect a solution of woorara. Thus we have the singular phenomenon of an animal, carrying in its stomach, harmless to itself, a liquid {80} which would cause instant death to any others who should be inoculated with it. Not only did the dog which swallowed the poison experience no fatal result from it, but its digestion was not even affected by it; the gastric juice thus mixed retaining all its digestive properties.

These facts prove that the innocuousness of woorara when introduced into the stomach, is not attributable to the action of the gastric juice. The other intestinal liquids, saliva, bile, pancreatic juice, were attended with similar results, none of them producing by contact the least difference in the poisonous effect of woorara.

The explanation of these facts appears to be simply this: there is a want of absorption of the venomous substance through the gas­tro-in­test­i­nal mucous membrane. This can be shown by the following experiment:—Take the fresh gastric mucous membrane of a dog or rabbit, recently killed; adapt it to an endosmometer in such a manner that the mucous surface remains outwards; then plunge the endosmometer containing sweetened water into a watery solution of woorara, and we shall find, after two or three hours, that the endosmosis will be complete. The level will have risen in the endosmometer, and yet the liquid contained in it will shew no trace of the poison, as can be proved by inoculating other animals with it.

If the experiment were to last longer, the endosmose of the poison might take place, but we should then find that the epithelium which covers its surface, had become changed, and had permitted the imbibition and endosmosis of the poisonous principle. This is so true, that if a partially decomposed membrane should be used instead of a fresh one, the endosmose of the poisonous principle takes place immediately. On the living animal, we can establish this property of the intestinal mucous membrane, and can demonstrate that amongst substances perfectly soluble in appearance there are some which when lodged on the surface of the intestinal membrane, may remain there without being absorbed, or without affecting the system. The active principle of woorara is of this kind. {81}

It was necessary to ascertain whether other mucous membranes, besides those of the digestive organs, were possessed of this same property with regard to woorara. We have tried it successively on those of the bladder, the nasal fossæ and the eyes, and in all we have found an equal resistance to the absorption of the poisonous principle. An injection of this poison into the bladder of a dog, was retained six or eight hours, with no bad effects; but the urine voided after that time had all the poisonous properties of woorara.

One mucous membrane alone offers a remarkable exception; it is the pulmonary. This acts, in regard to the absorption of woorara, precisely like the sub-cutaneous cellular tissue; and on the introduction of some drops of the poisonous solution into the air passages, when every precaution is taken, death takes place as rapidly as when the skin has been punctured.

We readily perceive that this membrane, destined solely for the passage of the air to accomplish the phenomena of respiration, possesses a peculiar structure, and is unprovided with that protecting mucous which lubricates the other membranes communicating with the exterior. This similarity between the pulmonary mucous membrane and cellular tissue, supports the ideas which M. Majendie, long ago, promulgated on the structure of the lungs.

We shall not expatiate, at present, on the remarkable difference in the absorbent properties of the various mucous membranes of the body. We shall have occasion again to revert to the subject, and shall only state that this fact, in relation to the absorption of woorara, is not isolated, and that in the intestines, for example, many active principles, although soluble, cannot be absorbed, and are consequently forced to act locally, or as if shut up in a closed vessel.

For the present we will content ourselves with these conclusions:

1st. That woorara acts upon animals in the same manner as venom.

2nd. That its harmlessness, when injected into the intestinal {82} canal, cannot be explained by any change which the poisonous principle undergoes, but rather by a special property of the gas­tro-in­tes­ti­nal mucous membrane which resists its absorption.—Journal de Pharmacie et Chimie.

SUMBUL, OR YATAMANSI.

Sumbul, the name and therapeutical properties of which are almost unknown to French physicians, appears to have been employed in India from a very remote period. Pietro Della Valle, who travelled through the different countries of Asia, in 1623, 1624 and 1625, mentions that sumbul is a root, and not a stem, although the Arabic word, sumbul, he observes, refers to the whole plant. It appears that the word sumbul is applied in India to a plant and portions of a plant, used as a perfume, as an incense in religious ceremonies, and again, as a medicinal substance. Sir William Jones thought that the true sumbul was a species of valerian, known both to the Hindoos and Brahmins, under the name of yatamansi. But, according to M. Granville, it appears to be an aquatic umbelliferous plant, found in the neighborhood of rivers.

It is erroneously asserted that it grows in Hindostan. It is not found in any part of the Indian territory, occupied by the English. The plant grows in Bootan and the mountains of Nepaul; and although large quantities of the dried plant have been exported, no botanist has yet been able to describe its char­ac­ter­is­tics from a living specimen. It is said that the native laws forbid the exportation of a living plant, without an order from the sovereign.

Sumbul has been described as a mass of roots and leaves of a greenish color, crumpled and pressed one against the other. This is an error, and arises from the fact of some having been first shown at St. Petersburg, which had been mixed with a {83} strong decoction of this substance of a greenish color. Sumbul appears, on the contrary, under the form of a root, thick, homogeneous, of two, three, and even four inches in diameter, cut in pieces of an inch to an inch and a half long, and whose section presents a fibrous aspect, and a white and yellowish tint. It is brought from the centre of Asia, to Moscow, via Kiatcha. In all the good specimens of sumbul, the epidermis, or external covering, is of a dark shade, approaching to brown; if the color be strongly marked, it indicates that the plant was old. The epidermis is very thin, and much wrinkled. The interior substance is composed of thick, irregular fibres, which may be separated from one another, after the outer covering is detached, and which indicate a porous structure, common to aquatic plants. If, after taking off the outer covering, we make a transverse cut, we shall perceive an external layer, white and marbled, and an internal layer, thicker and yellowish. With a powerful lens we can distinguish transparent points, which look like grains of fecula.

Two very remarkable physical char­ac­ter­is­tics demand our attention when we examine this root: first, its perfume, resembling the purest musk; then the powerful aroma which it exhales when under mastication. This odor of musk is so marked, that some had thought it owed this quality to its contact with musk, in the transportation of drugs from Asia to Europe; but such an idea is negatived by the fact that sumbul retains this odor, even when very old; that even when the external parts have lost it, it continues in the interior; that this odoriferous principle may be extracted from it by chemical manipulation; and again, that it has received from botanists the name of moschus-wurzel or musk-root. Its aromatic taste is also a distinguishing char­ac­ter­is­tic. The first impression on the palate is slightly sweet, this is rapidly replaced by a balsamic flavor, and then by a bitter, but not unpleasant taste.—As mastication proceeds, the mouth and throat experience a strong aromatic and pungent taste, and the breath becomes impregnated with the penetrating odor of the {84} substance.—This flavor is still more decided in the alcoholic tincture than in the root.

The chemical analysis of sumbul has occupied several German chemists, Reinsch, Schnitzlein, Frichinger, and Kalthover. According to Reinsch, the root of sumbul contains, besides water, traces of an ethereal oil, two balsamic compounds, (resins) one soluble in ether, the other in alcohol, wax, aromatic spirit, and a bitter substance, soluble in water or alcohol. The solution of this bitter substance, treated with lime, and chloride of sodium, gives a sediment composed of gum, starch and saline materials. The perfume appears to be contained in the balsams, and its intensity is increased by being diluted with water. Finally, sumbul contains an acid, which Reinsch proposes calling sumbulic acid.

Kalthover directed his attention further to its phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal uses, and obtained an alcoholic tincture of a yellowish color, musky odor, and bitter taste; an ethereal tincture, yellowish, musky, and of a sharp taste; and a substance resembling wax, precipitated after repeated decoctions in water.

It appears then, that we may obtain from sumbul for medical purposes, two tinctures, one alcoholic, the other ethereal, which seem to differ in their principles, and which may be given in drops alone, or combined with other medicines; and a bitter extract, soluble in water, which may be administered in pills. The powdered root may also be given crude, or in pills.—(Union Médicale) in Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie.

[Sumbul has been used as an anti spasmodic and a nervine; further investigation is needed however to ascertain its true place in the Materia Medica. In the mean time it has been imported by one of our apothecaries, Mr. Delluc, and we may soon hope to learn something more concerning its effects upon the system.] ED. JOURNAL OF PHARMACY.

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OBSERVATIONS ON THE STRENGTH OF TINCTURE OF OPIUM. BY A. B. GARROD, M. D.

Professor of Materia Medica at University College, and Physician to University College Hospital.

As many discrepant statements are to be found in works on Materia Medica, in various dispensatories, &c. concerning the strength of the tincture of opium of the London Pharmacopœia, it may not be either uninstructive or uninteresting at least to the medical profession, to have the subject brought under notice and discussion at this society, in order that they may arrive at some definite conclusion concerning the strength of a preparation they are in the daily habit of prescribing. If we refer to the London Pharmacopœia of 1836, we find the following directions for making the tincture of opium:—

• Take of hard opium powdered, 3 ounces,
• Proof spirit, 2 pints,
• Macerate for fourteen days, and strain.

In the Pharmacopœia of 1851, we are ordered to—

• Take of opium powdered, 3 ounces,
• Proof spirit, 2 pints,
• Macerate for seven days, press out, and strain.

The only difference in the directions being that powdered hard opium, and digestion for fourteen days, are ordered in the one case, and simply powdered opium and seven days digestion in the other. If we look at the authorised edition of the Pharmacopœia by Mr. Philips of 1836, (and also at the present edition) we find stated, that the preparation has a deep brownish red color, possesses the peculiar odor and taste of opium, has sp. gr. 0.952, and about 19 minims contain 1 grain of opium, which is said to be proved by the following data: 1st, by evaporating the tincture, and finding the amount of solid extract left; 2d, by ascertaining the quantity of opium remaining undissolved. The conclusion at which Mr. Phillips arrived, viz: that 1 grain of opium was contained in 19 minims of the Pharmacopœia tincture, has been copied into most English works on Materia {86} Medica, and most medical men have been and are still in the habit of prescribing the tincture considering it to be of the above strength. Were Mr. Phillip’s conclusions correct?

With regard to the amount of solid extract left on evaporation of the tincture, it appears from the experiments of Mr. Allchin, which are also confirmed by those which I have myself made, that 19 minims yield about 1 grain of extract; but in these cases the Turkey opium of commerce must be first exsiccated; and the tinctures of commerce yield quantities varying from 1 in 19 to 1 in 28 minims of the tincture. Tincture of opium made with Turkey opium in small masses not previously dried, fl.

j. gave on drying 2.7 of solid residue, or 1 grain in about 22.2 minims. Tincture of opium made with good Turkey opium, previously dried and reduced to powder (Pharmacopœia directions) fl.

j. gave on drying—three experiments—3.1, or 1 grain of residue in 19.3 minims.

If made with opium capable of being reduced to a state of powder, the average quantity of extract would be about 1 grain in 20 minims; this proportion would indicate that one-third of the solid ingredient (opium) is left undissolved, which was found by Mr. Phillips to be the case. I believe all good specimens of Turkey opium yield about this amount of residue. An experiment made within the last week at Mr. Bell’s establishment gave this result. If then the strength of tincture of opium be considered to be that indicated by Mr. Phillips, we must assume that the undissolved portion possesses the same therapeutic effects as the dissolved portion. Is this correct?

It has been stated by some that morphia can be extracted from the residuum, and in Dr. Pereira’s Materia Medica, we find the following observations: “Proof spirit dissolves the same constituents as water does, but it takes up a larger proportion of narcotine, resin, oil. I have repeatedly prepared morphia from the insoluble residue left behind in the preparation of the tincture.” Again, in Dr. Thomson’s Dispensatory it is stated that Mr. Brande finds that the whole of the morphia is not taken up; but is found in no inconsiderable quantity in the filter. {87} We suspect occasionally narcotine has been taken for morphia,[7] and in the cases where morphia has really been found, unless the residue had been previously washed, an error may have arisen from the alkaloid being contained in the tincture of opium adhering to the dregs, and not from any contained in the residue itself. I have recently endeavoured to ascertain the true state of the case, and chiefly by means of a therapeutic inquiry into the strength of the residuum. The residue of tincture of opium prepared in the ordinary way at University College Hospital, was taken for experiment; it was first washed with a little cold water to remove any adhering tincture, and afterwards dried in a water-bath. By digestion with ether, it was found to yield abundance of narcotine, and was also found to contain meconic acid sufficient to strike a claret color with the persalts of iron; but at the same time nitric acid gave no evidence of the presence of morphia. It was found also by experiment that proof spirit at the ordinary temperature dissolved but a very small portion of narcotine; the bulk of the narcotine therefore remains in the residuum from the tincture of opium, perhaps united with meconic acid; for when treated with water acidulated with acetic acid, both narcotine and meconic acid were dissolved.

[7] In the sixth edition of Dr. Thomson’s Dispensatory, page 1061, the following method is given for obtaining “meconate of morphia,” extracted from the Quarterly Journal of Science, vol. xx., from which it will be at once observed, that narcotine was mistaken for crystallized meconate of morphia.

“Reduce good opium to powder, put it into a paper filter, add distilled water to it, and slightly agitate it; and in this way wash it till the water passes through colorless, after which, pass a little diluted alcohol through it; dry the insoluble portion (now diminished to one-half,) in a dark place; digest it, when dry, in strong alcohol for a few minutes, applying heat; separate this solution, which by boiling, and after evaporation, will yield crystallized meconate of morphia of a pale straw color.”

A portion of the residue was given internally; one grain to a healthy adult produced no effect; two grains were given with no result; the dose was then successively increased to four grains then to six grains, afterwards to thirteen, and lastly to thirty grains, without causing the slightest effect on the individuals to whom it was administered; the only limitation to the quantity given being the unpleasantness of taking so large an {88} amount of so bulky a matter. It appears, therefore, that the residue is, to all intents and purposes, inert.

From these experiments, it is evident that even should traces of morphia be contained in the dregs, still the quantity must be such (when the tincture is prepared according to the London Pharmacopœia) as to make no appreciable diminution of the strength of the preparation, and that the tinctura opii contains the active matter of the whole of the drug used in its formation, and therefore about 12 minims of tincture of opium possesses all the activity of 1 grain of crude opium, assuming that it loses only 12 per cent. in the drying. If dry opium is taken for comparison, 1 grain is contained in about 13¹⁄₂ minims; and, therefore, one fluid drachm of tinctura opii contains about 5 grains of the drug, or 4¹⁄₂ grains (according as it is compared with the dry or moist opium), in place of 3 grains; or 1 fluid ounce contains 40 or 36 grains in place of 24 grains usually assumed to be contained in it: a difference of strength of the highest importance when we consider the highly poisonous and powerful therapeutic action of the drug.

In the Edinburgh preparation the amount of tincture containing a grain of opium is about 13¹⁄₂ minims, for the opium is ordered in the same proportion but not previously reduced to powder or dried. In the Dublin preparation the opium is ordered to be coarsely powdered, but avoirdupois weight is used in place of apothecaries, which makes the strength of the tincture such that 12.75 minims contain one grain.

The error as to the strength of the tincture of opium, which is found in so many works, has been recently commented on. Thus Dr. Christison objects to Mr. Phillip’s statements; Dr. Royle also alludes to it, and so does Mr. Squire, in his recent work on the Pharmacopœias; and even those writers who have copied the statement must have done so without much thought on the subject, as they have calculated the strength of other preparations of opium, as that of the tinctura opii ammoniata, tinctura camphoræ composita, assuming that all the active properties of the opium used in the preparation had been taken up {89} by the menstrua. And this is the case even with Mr. Phillips himself, in the case of the compound tincture of camphor, when he states that nearly two grains of opium are contained in the ounce, the Pharmacopœia proportions of opium being 1.6 grains only.

I have brought the question before the Society more for the purpose of eliciting the opinions of the members on the point, than with the idea of bringing forward much that is novel on the subject; if the conclusion to which we have arrived, namely, that 12 minims of tincture of opium contain all the medical properties of 1 grain of the crude drug, I think it very important that the members of the medical profession should be made fully aware of the delusion under which they have labored for so many years with regard to the strength of this important preparation.

NOTICE OF SOME VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL SUBSTANCES, NATURAL PRODUCTS OF NEW GRANADA. BY M. J. RAF. MONZON, M. D. (In a Letter to Dr. Pereira.)

Sandi is a resinous gummy substance, produced in abundance by a tree known by this name, on making an incision in its bark. At first it presents itself white, or liquid like milk, and it is called in the province of Barbacoas, “milk of sandi.” In a few days it acquires the consistency of resinous gum. In this state it is applied to various medicinal uses in different parts of New Granada, especially in the province of Barbacoas, a warm and damp country near the Ecuador, from whence the present sample comes. Its principal therapeutic property is resolutive; applied as a plaster upon lupus, fleshy excrescencies of the skin, cold and indolent tumors, &c. it produces their resolution; and this result is frequently confirmed by the {90} inhabitants of those countries. I have obtained it almost always when I have made use of the milk in similar cases. At present my father has applied this gum in the valley of Cauca, and with extraordinary success, for the cure of “bocios,” or obstructions of the thyroid gland. He has been able to purify it, taking away the part of potass which it contains in its original state, and has been able to give it the consistence and color of gum Arabic; with this substance he makes a plaster, which destroys the “bocios,” which so much abound in New Granada; and its general benefits are felt and acknowledged.

It is likewise used as an agent against sterility in women, applying it as a plaster upon the hypogastric region. In ulcers of a good character I have obtained frequent and quick cicatrisation by applying it in the same manner; I have also used it as a vehicle for preparing and applying blisters.

ACEITE DE PALO (oil of wood) is produced by a tree called “manteco,” in the same province. Its principal therapeutic qualities are topical and blistering. By using it as an embrocation I have destroyed the epidermis, and have thus been able to get rid of freckles and superficial stains on the face and other parts of the body. Applied in larger quantities it produces the effect of a strong blister, excoriating and inflaming the skin. This oil is used in its natural state as an ointment, on arms and instruments of steel: it destroys their temper and softens them. By decoction it loses these qualities, and might be used as an ointment without any risk. It cannot be used as a lamp-oil, because it exhales a very thick smoke and the most disagreeable smell. It has no known internal medicinal qualities; it may be classed amongst the corrosive poisons; its color is purple, its taste sui generis.

LECHE DE POPA (milk of the cow-tree).—This substance, in its natural state, possesses the physical properties of animal milk. It is obtained by incision in the bark of the tree, which is very abundant in the province of Barbacoas. The Indians and the African race take it instead of cow milk; it is very nutritive, but has no known medicinal qualities. It is used also {91} for whitewashing houses, combining it with earthy substances, because, being glutinous, it makes the whitewashing last longer, and prevents its staining or rubbing off.

MIEL DE ABEJA DE BREA (honey of the pitch bee).—This honey is extracted from the hive of a bee, very different from the one known in Europe, and very much smaller. It is acid. Its medicinal qualities are for interior refrigeration. I have applied it externally for contusions and ecchymosis, caused by blows or falls, and I have always obtained a good result. The pitch is a resinous substance, of a dark yellow color, and constitutes the hive made by this bee. It has a peculiar taste and smell, is very combustible, and is used by the common people for torches. It is soluble in alcohol. I have applied it as a plaster for nervous rheumatic pains, and it has always relieved the pains and swellings.

CANEDILLO.—This is the name of a cane with a bitter and aromatic bark, and, in my opinion, it belongs to the family of Winter’s bark. It has many therapeutic qualities; amongst others it has particularly attracted my attention as an antidote against the bite of snakes and of other venomous animals. I consider it the best and safest of all the antidotes known. Put two ounces of this bark in a bottle of alcohol, allow it to macerate for three or four hours, to obtain a tincture. Use two parts of this mixture with common water; a wineglass every two hours until you allay the headache of the bitten person—an infallible consequence of the bite, cupping at the same time, and extracting the tooth, which often remains in the part, which is then to be washed and covered with lint wetted with the tincture. By this simple method I have cured hundreds, without the loss of a single life. This antidote is now generally kept by all the owners of mines, as a certain cure for bites of snakes, in preference to other antidotes formerly used. It has this advantage over them, that it may be taken in any quantity without danger. It is, besides, a tonic and anti-spasmodic. I have used it also as a febrifuge; in rheumatism (by friction); and in the windy colic, taken in the same way as for bites by snakes. {92} For indigestion caused by weakness, and for amenorrhœa, from the same cause, it is also used.

SANDALO.—This is the bark of a tree which grows in the province of Esmeraldas, in the republic of the Ecuador. When burned, it produces a balsamic smell; by boiling the bark when fresh, it produces a very aromatic balsam, which, like the balsam of tolu is used in catarrh, spasmodic cough, ulcers, &c.

NOTE.—All these substances are indigenous in the province of Barbacoas. Popa and sandi are found in great abundance. Manteca de palo (oil, or literally butter of wood), is obtained only from young trees which grow in the plains.

ON THE SODA-PYROPHOSPHATE OF IRON. BY ALEXANDER URE, ESQ., SURGEON TO ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL.

My attention was attracted some time back by an ingenious paper of Mons. Persoz on the double pyrophosphoric salts, published in the Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie for 1848. In the latter part of that paper, the author expresses an opinion that the pyrophosphoric salts are likely to prove of importance as medicinal agents. It is well known that iron is rendered very eligible for internal use, if administered in the form of a triple salt, as when combined, for example, with tartaric acid and potash; because the iron then is no longer precipitable by the alkaline hydrate. It would appear, however that the soda pyrophosphate of iron is in many respects superior as a medicine to the triple salts into which the vegetable acids enter.—Thus, the pyrophosphoric salt, from being saturated with oxygen, cannot in passing through the system absorb more, whereas the latter salts under like circumstances, are constantly undergoing a process of combustion, according to Millon; and by withdrawing oxygen in this manner, must necessarily impair the efficacy of the oxide of iron as an oxydizing agent. It deserves notice, moreover, that the constituent ingredients of the soda-pyrophosphate of iron are to be found in the organism. {93}

I have prescribed this salt to various patients, and found it to act as a mild but efficient chalybeate. One little scrofulous girl, now under my care in St. Mary’s Hospital, for disease of the hip-joint, has taken it in solution during several months with the best effect. The remedy was accurately prepared by Mr. Blyth, dispenser to the hospital, according to the subjoined directions of Mons. Persoz: 32.5 grammes of green sulphate of iron in crystals are to be mixed in a porcelain capsule with 5 grammes of sulphuric acid, 30 grammes of water, and as much nitro-muriatic acid as will suffice to effect the oxidation of the protoxide of iron. The above mixture is to be evaporated to dryness in order to get rid of the free acid, and then treated with water to the amount of one litre. From 107 to 110 grammes of crystallized pyrophosphate of soda are to be dissolved likewise in a litre of water, of course in a separate vessel. The two solutions are next to be mixed together, and provided the iron solution has been rightly prepared there will be no precipitate whatever.

Each litre of liquid will contain as much iron as 16.5 of the green sulphate.

This solution is not affected by dilution with rain or distilled water, but from being faintly alkaline, is rendered slightly turbid on the addition of water impregnated with lime.

ON THE SIMABA CEDRON. BY M. BERTHOLD SEEMANN.

A tree, which has attained great celebrity, is that called Cedron (Simaba Cedron, Planch.). The most ancient record of it which I can find is in the History of the Buccaneers, an old work published in London in the year 1699. Its use as an antidote for the bite of snakes, and its place of growth, are there distinctly stated; but whether on the authority of the natives, or accidentally discovered by the pirates, does not appear. If {94} the former was the case, they must have learned it while on some of their cruises on the Magdalena, for in the Isthmus the very existence of the tree was unsuspected until about 1845, when Don Juan de Ansoatigui, ascertained, by comparison, that the Cedron of Panama and Darien was identical with that of Carthagena. The virtues of its seeds, however, were known, years ago, from those fruits imported from the Magdalena, where, according to Mr. William Purdie, the plant grows in profusion about the village of San Pablo. In the Isthmus it is generally found on the outskirts of forests in almost every part of the country, but in greater abundance in Darien and Veraguas than in Panama. The natives hold it in high esteem, and always carry a piece of the seed about with them. When a person is bitten, a little, mixed with water, is applied to the wound, and about two grains scraped into brandy, or, in the absence of it, into water, is administered internally. By following this treatment the bites of the most venomous snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and other noxious animals, have been unattended with dangerous consequences. Doses of it have also proved highly beneficial in cases of intermittent fever. The Cedron is a tree, from twelve to sixteen feet high; its simple trunk is about six inches in diameter, and clothed on the top with long pinnated leaves, which give it the appearance of a palm. Its flowers are greenish, and the fruit resembles very much an unripe peach. Each seed, or cotyledon I should rather say, is sold in the chemist’s shops in Panama for two or three reals (about 1s. or 1s. 6d. English), and sometimes a much larger price is given for them.—Hooker’s Journal of Botany.

[A large number of the Cedron seeds have lately been received in New York, probably from a section of the country where they are cheaper than upon the Isthmus. As a remedy for the bites of venomous reptiles, like all others of the same class, it is of little value, but from its intense bitterness, it may be expected to possess great tonic powers, and if, in addition to these, further experience shall confirm the report of its virtues as an antiperiodic, it will prove a remedy of great value.]—ED. NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY.

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EDITORIAL.

COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE.

In September the flower is in full perfection, the long tube of the perianth of which has raised the six partite limb to the height of from six to eight inches above the ground. The flower remains for two or three weeks, and then dies down; and nothing of the plant is seen above the surface till the beginning of February, when the leaf stalk commences to rise. If at this time the plant be taken up, the old and new bulb will still be found to be united, but the new one will be observed to have increased little in size since autumn, being still hardly larger in diameter than the leaf stalk. The bulb thus grows little during the autumn, but in winter it increases rapidly in size; in April it is like a large hazel nut, and from that time it increases still more till the end of June or the beginning of July, when it is, as Dr. Christison states, as large as an apricot.

In April the leaf stalk is found perfected by a fine group of dark green leaves, generally three in number, and having within their sheath the capsules which ought to ripen their fruit in the course of the summer.

In May the old bulb will be found dry and withered, and containing very little starch; and in July if the plant be taken up, three bulbs will be found, the first now reduced to the form of a membrane, bearing no resemblance to a bulb at all; the second, arrived at full growth; and a third the progeny of the second.

In February and August, instead of one leaf stalk and flower stalk making their appearance at their respective periods, I have often remarked that two have occurred, one on either side of the parent bulb. I believe this to be one of the effects of cultivation, as I have no where seen it remarked in descriptions of the plant by botanical authors.

Dr. Christison has mentioned that the full size of a Colchicum bulb is that of a small apricot. Where the plant has been cultivated however, Dr. Maclagan, frequently met with them as big as large apples, and on one occasion procured one in October weighing nine and a half ounces. {96}

He thinks that the cormus should be taken for medicinal use about the middle of July, at which time it has attained its greatest size, and is firm, amylaceous and exceedingly bitter. The bitterness is the best criterion of its medicinal activity.

A number of years ago, Dr. A. T. Thomson, proposed the tincture of Guaiacum as a test for the goodness of Colchicum. Ten grains of the bulb were rubbed in a mortar, with sixteen minims of distilled vinegar, and immediately afterwards sixteen minims of the tincture of guaiacum were added. When the bulb was good, a beautiful cerulean color, according to Dr. Thomson, was produced. Having ascertained that several specimens which he knew to be good failed in giving this char­ac­ter­is­tic color, Dr. M. proceeded to investigate the causes on which it depended. He expressed several bulbs and filtered the juice to separate the starch; a beautiful blue color was now immediately produced by the test. The blue liquid was then heated till the albumen was coagulated; the color remained with the coagulum, while the liquid was colorless. On raising the heat to 212° the blue color disappeared. The test produced no change in the starch collected on the filter. When the fluid was boiled previously to the application of the test, no blue color was produced by it either with the filtered fluid or the coagulum. From these experiments Dr. M. concludes, “1st. That albumen is the principle acted on. 2nd. That a heat above 180° destroys this action. 3rd. That the value of the test is to prove that the bulbs have been dried at a temperature not higher than 180°.”

Dr. Maclagan was unable to procure colchicia, the alkaloid announced by Geiger & Hesse, in the crystalline form, though he followed the process they give very exactly, and consequently he doubts its crystalline nature. What he obtained was in the form of a brown resinous looking mass without smell, and of a bitter taste, the bitterness being followed by a slight sense of irritation in the throat but by nothing like the intense acrimony of veratria.

In regard to the physiological action of Colchicum, Dr. M. confirms the statement of previous observers, that it markedly increases the amount of urea in the urine; and contrary to what has been maintained by some, found it likewise to increase the quantity of uric add. In an experiment related in detail, after the colchicum had been employed for six days, the amount of urea in the urine was found to be increased by nearly one half, and the uric acid was more than doubled.

ERRATA IN THE FEBRUARY NUMBER.

• Page [33,] 13th line from the bottom—for “slack” read “slacked.”
• Page [36,] 17th line from the bottom—for “grns.” read “grms.”
• Page [36,] 11th line from the bottom—for “grns.” read “grms.”
• Page [36,] 11th line from the bottom—for “0.845 grn.” read “0.845 grm.”
• Page [37,] 2nd line from the top—for “monohydrate” read “molybdate.”

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NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. APRIL, 1852.

REMARKS UPON SOME OF THE PREPARATIONS OF THE PHARMACOPŒIA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1851. BY GEORGE D. COGGESHALL. (Continued from page [44.])

In giving formulæ it is to be supposed that the purpose of a Pharmacopœia is to be practical, responding to the every day wants of the associated professions of medicine and pharmacy. It would seem to be in no case of practical utility to retain a formula that is not used, and of this character I think is the one for “MUCILAGE OF GUM ARABIC.” It does not appear to be employed of the consistence directed except as a paste. Nor is this consistence understood when mucilage of gum arabic is prescribed by physicians, but by some apothecaries a solution of only one eighth, and by others, one fourth the strength is put up. If physicians are expected to prescribe, and apothecaries to compound according to the letter of the Pharmacopœia, this is certainly a daily and unfortunately, owing to the want of a standard, a variable exception. The formula in our Pharmacopœia is substantially the same as in those of London and Edinburgh, while that of Dublin is one half stronger. In the latter three it enters into other officinal preparations, but in every case it is combined with water, which appears to be a needless multiplication of the process, as the proper proportions of gum and water for the whole might as well be directed at once. Nor, is it probably used in {98} extemporaneous prescription without similar addition of water, unless it may be to form pills, for which it is rarely, if ever, well adapted, or employed by the apothecary when it is prescribed, as it makes, with most substances, an intractable mass. I have been told by a highly intelligent and well educated English apothecary, that “it was formerly the practice of English physicians to prescribe one ounce of mucilage of gum arabic with seven ounces of water, (or in that proportion,) making a solution of the strength now commonly used here, and that it had become gradually the practice to direct the whole quantity required, under the term of ‘mucilage of gum arabic,’ with the general understanding that the diluted strength was intended.” As this seems to be now the universal practice in prescribing and putting up mixtures, the officinal directions are practically useless, and lead to the adoption of various proportions by different apothecaries, to produce the mucilage to complete mixtures.

Another circumstance may be noticed. The Pharmacopœia directs the use of powdered gum and of boiling water, whereas gum, in its ordinary condition or coarsely broken, and cold water make a clearer solution. Cold water is directed for the solution of the gum by the Edinburgh process, and in our present formula for “Syrup of Gum Arabic;”—if appropriate for the latter, it is quite as much so for the forming of mucilage. When the gum has been ground in a mill it appears to have been a little charred and forms a somewhat turbid solution; if powdered by hand, and rather more coarsely, its solution is clearer.

Upon the whole it seems desirable that there should be a uniform strength for the mucilage of gum arabic, prescribed by physicians in mixtures, which the officinal preparation evidently is not. Our mucilage does not enter into any other officinal preparations, and if it did, the combination of gum and water had better be made in the general process, as in our almond mixture.

“COMPOUND SPIRIT OF LAVENDER” appears to be but seldom {99} made according to the officinal directions, owing to the difficulty of procuring the simple spirit of lavender. On this account most apothecaries use a proportion of the oil of lavender and of spirit, variable no doubt in different private recipes. The oil makes a decidedly inferior preparation, separating upon admixture with water, and even the best English oil—which is probably never used—is less congenial to the stomach than the distilled spirit. But the difficulty may be overcome, and an excellent preparation, essentially the same and perhaps quite equal in quality and flavor to that of the Pharmacopœia, may be made by the employment of recently dried flowers. The following is the formula I have used for several years, with an entirely satisfactory result:—

• Take of Lavender flowers twelve ounces,
• Rosemary leaves,
• Cinnamon, bruised, each four ounces and a half,
• Nutmegs, bruised,
• Cloves, bruised, each six drachms,
• Coriander seed, bruised,
• Red Sanders each three ounces,
• Powdered Turmeric one drachm,
• Alcohol six pints,
• Water five pints and a quarter.
• Mix, digest for fourteen days, express and filter.

THE “SYRUP OF GUM ARABIC,” unaccountably withdrawn from the Pharmacopœia in 1840, when it had become a familiar favorite, comes to us again in the new revision, not at all improved by seclusion. It is changed in its proportions, but not for the better, as it now has too little gum and too much sugar in its composition. Of numerous formulæ by which I have made this syrup, I have always found that from our Pharmacopœia of 1830, the best in proportions, consistence and flavor. It is defective however, in one point of construction, and incorrect in the use of boiling water to make the solution of gum. The syrup is probably not better in any essential particular, but it is clearer, and therefore more pleasing in {100} appearance, when it is constructed by making the solutions of gum and sugar separately, that of the gum in half the water cold, and that of the sugar in the remainder of the water boiling, then immediately combining the two and bringing to the boiling point. It may then be easily filtered through flannel.

In preparing “SYRUP OF CITRIC ACID,” it would be preferable to use, in place of the oil of lemon, a tincture made from the outside yellow part of the rind of the fresh fruit, made by covering it with pure alcohol. Two drachms of this tincture are about equivalent to four minims of the oil of lemon.

The formula for “SYRUP OF IPECACUANHA” is one of the most objectionable we have to notice, and the least calculated to answer medical wants in regard to its importance. There is a verbal error, either in the list of components or in the directions, which leads to some confusion. Amongst the former we find “diluted alcohol,” and in the latter, we are told to “macerate the ipecacuanha in the alcohol, &c.” The same error occurs in the edition of 1840. This formula is unnecessarily complex, and yields an inefficient preparation of about half the strength of the wine of ipecac, which it was intended to equal at its origin, about twelve years before its introduction into our Pharmacopœia. Previously to this it had, for six or eight years, been made here of about double the strength of the wine, in accordance with the general plan of forming medicinal syrups, by combining as large a proportion of the remedial agent in them as can readily be done, to obviate at once the necessity of bulky doses, and the exhibition of undue quantities of sugar. I cannot discover the advantage of making a pint of tincture with an ounce of the root, evaporating the filtered tincture to six fluid ounces, filtering again, and then adding water to bring back the measure of a pint. If the object be to get rid of the alcohol, it is an unnecessary exposure of the soluble principles of the ipecac to heat, for half a pint of diluted alcohol, especially with four ounces of water added by way of displacement, would exhaust the root equally well; so that the evaporation need not {101} be carried so far. There is no mention of a water bath, which should be used by all means.

We should prefer, if we could, to make all preparations which the Pharmacopœia contains, in accordance with it. But when a preparation has been in such general and favorite use, for several years, as to be considered indispensable before it becomes officinal; and in such form is reduced to a third or a fourth of what is felt to be an eligible strength, not only without any compensating advantage, but with the positive disadvantages of greatly diluting its remedial influence, and increasing the quantity required to be taken of a nauseous medicine, there is naturally an unwillingness to yield well settled convictions of utility, and replace an important remedy, that has proved quite satisfactory, with a preparation believed to be of comparatively little value. It is not probable that, in New York, the present officinal syrup of ipecacuanha, can ever supersede the efficient and reliable one we have so long been accustomed to, nor answer the wishes and expectations of the medical profession. I append the formula proposed in a paper read before the Board of Trustees in 1835, seven years before one for this syrup appeared in our Pharmacopœia. I have not found cause to change it in any respect. It affords about three pints of syrup, which keeps well for years at the ordinary temperatures of the shop, and of dwellings; the proportion of sugar proves to be just what is wanted for a proper consistence without cry­stal­li­za­tion, and, as a medicine, it gives entire satisfaction to the prescriber. It is as follows:—

• Take of Ipecacuanha, bruised, six ounces,
• Alcohol one pint and a half,
• Water one pint,

Mix, to form a tincture. Digest for ten days, filter, and add one pint of water, by way of displacement, evaporate in a water bath to two pints, add immediately:

Refined sugar three pounds and a quarter.

And bring to the boiling point.

The “COMPOUND SYRUP OF SQUILL” is presented in the {102} Pharmacopœia with two processes for its preparation. The first is liable, though in a less degree, to the same objection which has rendered the original form, given by Dr. Coxe, obsolete, that it produces a turbid syrup, and one that will not keep. The second process is better, but scarcely adequate, I should think, to extract the full strength of the roots so well as by the employment of a greater proportion of alcohol, and longer digestion. The following produces three and a half pints of syrup from the same materials, apparently stronger than if the boiling, which is only for a few minutes, were continued down to three pints, retaining a portion of honey, for the sake of the flavor, and with as large an addition of sugar as the syrup will bear without cry­stal­li­za­tion. The proportion of tartar emetic is, of course, the same:

• Take of Seneka, bruised,
• Squills, bruised, each four ounces.
• Alcohol,
• Water each two pints.

Mix, to form a tincture. Digest ten days, filter, and add twelve ounces of water, by way of displacement, evaporate by water bath to two pints, add:

• Sugar fifteen ounces,
• Honey eighteen ounces,

Boil to three pints and a half, in which dissolve while hot:

Tartar emetic fifty-six grains.

“SYRUP OF TOLU,” made after the London formula, is a more elegant and better flavored preparation than can be made by any combination of the tincture. So decided is the superiority of the London process, that it is rather surprising the other Pharmacopœias should not adopt it. An apothecary who does, will hardly be satisfied with the tincture-made syrup afterwards.

The “TINCTURE OF ACONITE ROOT” is desired by our physicians of full saturation. The “strong tincture,” to which we have been accustomed for several years, is that of Fleming’s process, viz: sixteen ounces of the root to a pint and a half of alcohol. {103}

The “COMPOUND TINCTURE OF CARDAMOM” is now first introduced into our Pharmacopœia, with a change from the pleasant tincture we have been in the habit of making after the London or Edinburgh formula, by increasing the proportion of cardamom, from two drachms and a half to six drachms, and reducing the caraway one fifth, which makes a tincture not near so pleasant to the taste, owing to the strong predominance of the cardamom flavor, which is rather harsh when in too great excess. As this tincture is of little medical importance by itself, and chiefly used as an agreeable adjunct to mixtures, the proportions which have been found to answer so well may still be considered preferable.

There are other cases, no doubt, in which apothecaries will find it expedient to vary the processes of carrying out formulæ, not with a view of altering the strength of preparations, but arriving at substantially the same results or better ones, from the same materials, by improved application of skill. Whoever can, by superior method, more fully develope the qualities of a substance to be acted upon, than has hitherto been done, or change the character of a preparation from perishable to permanent, from uncertain to definite, from slovenly to elegant, can accomplish something for the benefit of his art, and render it so much the more useful to the community. Most of the improvements in pharmacy have been effected by the practical apothecary, and rendered available by him, in advance of the Pharmacopœia.

NOTES IN PHARMACY. BY BENJAMIN CANAVAN.

The fact in the natural kingdom, that “nothing is destroyed,” suggests an equally true axiom, as applied to the moral world, that “nothing is useless;” and, with this impression, I am induced to send the following trifles to the New York Journal of Pharmacy, which, if not unacceptable, it will give me pleasure to repeat “pro re natâ.” {104}

PIL. FERRI COMP.—This very much neglected pill, which is the prototype and should have precluded the necessity of Vallet’s preparation, I would beg leave to introduce, for the purpose of recommending, or rather verifying an improvement which I have sometimes adopted, in the mode of compounding it, differing from the officinal directions for so doing. We are told to “rub the myrrh with the carb. sodæ; then add the sulph. ferri, and again rub them; lastly, beat them with the syrup so as to form a mass.” I do not hesitate to say that no amount of trituration or skill, with which I am acquainted, will enable the manipulator by this means to make the mass properly, either in a chemical or phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal point of view.—In a note the editor of the United States Dispensatory informs us: “It is said the salt of iron will be better preserved, if the operator should dissolve the sulphate of iron in the syrup with a moderate heat and then add the carb. sodæ, stirring! till effervescence ceases;” this is correct in principle; but the same object is attained, and the only way by which the pill ought or can be properly prepared, is by triturating separately, and to solution the two salts in the necessary quantity of syrup, mixing, and again triturating until perfect decomposition is induced, and by incorporating the myrrh, form into a mass without delay. In this way you insure the existence of the intended proto carb. ferri in the pill, which is not, or only partially the case when prepared by any other process. I would remark, en passant, that this pill presents us with the very perishable proto carb. in the most permanent form, retaining, when properly prepared, its chemical integrity unimpaired, indefinitely, and is therefore superior in this important respect to the quickly changeable mist. ferri comp., the presence also of a larger proportion of myrrh being often a decided advantage.

EXTRACTA LIQUIDA OPII.—It has been suggested, and I believe attempted, to introduce certain preparations with the above titles, as substitutes for the demi-nostrum, known as “McMunn’s Elixir of Opium,” which has been very extensively used, and enjoyed high favor, but of which the exact nature {105} and mode of preparation are not generally understood, and which, either from having become too antiquated for this novelty hunting age, or its success having tempted the cupidity of avaricious persons, or from whatever cause, has been for some time diminishing in popularity, and subjected to many complaints. In all preparations of this potent drug, with which I am acquainted, ancient or modern, the great object has been, to get rid of the narcotine, which has been more or less accomplished by various processes. At present an aqueous fluid extract is said to supply the desideratum. This is merely a modification of the watery extract of all the Pharmacopœias, and is no doubt as good, but no better preparation. The denarcotised tincture is superior to all of them, and the very small quantity of spirit contained in an ordinary dose, is scarcely an objection, and is only little more than is necessary to preserve the extract; but if deemed otherwise, a fluid extract may be prepared from denarcotised opium, entirely free from the peccant alkaloid, and possibly the evaporation necessary to the process, may dissipate some noxious volatile property, which would exist in a tincture, and which it is most probable the opium possesses, from the fact, among others, that old opium is much less prone than new to cause disagreeable after effects. It has been supposed that meconic acid has been the evicted principle; but this is doubtful. However, the action of heat is useful, and I think a “fluid extract of denarcotised opium,” would perhaps be found to be as free as possible from objectionable effects.

ETHER HYDROCHLORIC; CHLORINAT: or ether hydrochlorique chlorè, as the French have it, is another change, rung by M. Mialhe of Paris, with the transcendental compounds of carbon and chlorine. It is a mongrel preparation, intermediate between hydrochloric: ether and chloroform, professing to have the advantage of not irritating the skin like the latter. If this be so, experience will tell, and also whether the irritation is not proportionable to the effect. With regard to such a refinement of an already infinitesimally delicate class of preparations, I should suppose it would be {106} desirable to effect the object aimed at by them, by if possible some more palpable method, as for instance diluting chloroform either with hydrochloric ether or alcohol, to the necessary mildness, or by interposing between it and the skin, a thin moist layer of some substance, as bibulous paper, which would not interfere with the rigefacient effect of evaporation, and would prevent any injury arising from actual contact.

INDELIBLE INK. BY M. GUILLER, OF PARIS.

Hitherto the various inks prepared for marking linen, have but imperfectly answered the end proposed. Some produced yellowish marks; others though blacker at first, disappeared either partially or entirely after several washings.

Again, others, in separate bottles, necessitated two distinct operations, and were thus attended with inconvenience, from the possibility of mistakes or forgetfulness, from the care required, and also from the time taken up in the operation.

In view of these difficulties, and to meet a demand constantly occurring in commerce, and in all kinds of manufactures, as well as in hospitals, and civil and military ad­min­i­stra­tions, we have applied ourselves to the composition of an ink free from all these objections, and perfectly easy and certain in its application.

We shall subjoin some formulæ for the manufacture of marking inks, which represent particular improvements, as can be verified by trying them.

Dissolve the 22 parts of sub-carbonate of soda in the 85 parts of water; put into a marble mortar the gum, and pour on {107} it very gradually the solution of the sub-carbonate, stirring it with the pestle to cause it to dissolve.

In the mean time, you will have dissolved the 11 parts of nitrate in the 20 parts of liquid ammonia. Mix the two solutions; put the whole in a matrass and expose it to heat. The mass which was of a dirty grey color, and half coagulated, becomes clear and brown, and when arrived at the boiling point, it becomes very dark, and sufficiently limpid to flow readily in the pen. This ink, made without heat like the two following forms no sediment, the ebullition thickening it, and besides giving the ink a very dark color, disengages the ammoniacal vapors, which attenuate the odor of the ammonia in it.

Mix as in No. 1; put the whole into a matrass and evaporate until the liquor has acquired a very dark brown tint, which will take place when it has lost about 5 per cent. of its bulk; a more complete evaporation would form a precipitate, as the vapors would draw off too much of the ammonia.

This ink will be found excellent for marking, the character will be very black, and it will be found especially useful for applying with the stamp.

First dissolve the 22 parts of sub-carbonate in the 25 parts of water, and the 15 of nitrate in the 42 of ammonia.

This done, put into the marble mortar the 20 parts of gum with the sixty parts of water which remain, stir it {108} with the pestle, and pour on it the solution of sub-carbonate, after which, pour the whole into the solution of the nitrate; finish by adding the 33 parts of the solution of sulphate of copper.

The greater quantity of ammonia is explained by the presence of the sulphate to be dissolved.

This composition differs from the others in having a blue tinge, due to the solution of copper.

It will be readily seen that these relative qualities, given as formulæ for the production of suitable inks, may vary according as it is desirable to produce a thicker or thiner ink, or according to the material on which it is to be used, observing that if, on the one hand, the ammonia acts as a solvent, and facilitates the composition of an ink which can be used without a previous preparation; on the other hand, the evaporation of a part of the ammonia by heat, gives to the liquid a dark color which renders the writing immediately black; again, the boiled liquid greases less, and thus penetrates and spreads better on the linen without making a blot.

As to the mode of using, whether with a pen or a stamp proceed as usual, namely: pass a hot iron over the writing, to cause it more completely to penetrate the material.

ON VALERIANIC ACID AND ITS SALTS. BY MR. J. B. BARNES.

Considerable attention having of late been directed to this class of compounds, perhaps a few practical observations relating to their manufacture, &c. might be of interest to the readers of The Annals of Pharmacy.

Although some of the combinations of valerianic acid with bases, and the properties of those salts, have been described in the books on chemistry, yet I believe I may lay claim to the priority of the preparation of an extensive series of the combination of valerianic acid with bases. {109}

Valerianic acid, it is well known, occurs preformed in certain plants; and it is equally well known, that it can be produced in the laboratory by artificial means. This very fact is of great interest to the investigating chemist, as it encourages him in the belief that he will, sooner or later, be able to produce artificially, not only acids, which are known to exist in the animal and vegetable kingdoms; but that he will so far imitate Nature in her wonderful processes, as to produce the vegetable alkaloids, morphia, quina, &c., by the combination of their elements.

The acid employed in the preparation of this series, for which I have had the honor of being awarded a Prize Medal by the Jurors of the Great Exhibition, was prepared, in principle, the same as that directed to be used by the Dublin Pharmacopœia in the preparation of valerianate of soda, namely, the oxidation of Fusel oil by means of chromic acid. The formula I employed is as follows:—

The bichromate of potash is to be finely powdered and dissolved in the water; the solution being put into a glass retort, the oil of vitriol is gradually added, and, when quite cold, the fusel oil is carefully added; the contents of the vessel must be constantly agitated, and at the same time kept immersed in cold water. The deep green liquid is now distilled from a sand bath; the distillate is mixed with caustic soda, or potash, and separated from the oily fluid floating on the surface; the valerianate of soda is evaporated to a convenient degree of concentration, introduced into a retort, decomposed with dilute sulphuric acid, and distilled; the liberated valerianic acid is finally dried over chloride of calcium.

It is also obtained by the oxidation of oil of valerian, by means of an alkali. It is formed from fats, by treating them {110} with fuming nitric acid; from animal nitrogenous matters, both by putrefaction and on decomposing them with strong nitric acid; and also if leucine be treated with caustic potash, or allowed to putrefy, it becomes converted into valerianic acid (no other acid being formed), ammonia and hydrogen being evolved.

It is most easily obtained in a state of absolute purity by the action of spongy platinum and atmospheric air upon potatoe Fusel oil.

Valerianic acid is composed of C₁₀ H₉ O₃, H O. It possesses a well known char­ac­ter­is­tic odour, an acrid burning taste, and produces a white spot on the tongue. It boils at 348° Fahr., and dissolves in 26 parts water; it also forms a second hydrate.[8]

[8] Lehmann’s Physiological Chemistry.

Combinations with the Alkalies.

The potash salt was prepared by saturating the acid with liquor potassæ, and evaporating carefully until aqueous vapour ceased to be given off: it should be, while still warm, cut up and preserved in well stoppered bottles. It does not crystallize, but forms a semi-transparent colorless mass, very much resembling phosphorus in appearance. It (probably from its compactness) produces when sharply struck with any hard body a metallic sound, somewhat like that occasioned when a bell of camphor is struck in a similar manner. It is deliquescent, and very soluble.

The soda salt was prepared in the same manner as the potash salt, cut up into pieces while warm, and preserved in stoppered bottles: it is in snow-white masses composed of minute crystals; it is deliquescent, and very soluble. The ammonia salt was prepared by saturating the acid with strong liquor ammoniæ, and evaporating at a temperature not exceeding 100° Fahr., until crystals appeared on the surface of the liquid. When it was set aside for further cry­stal­li­za­tion, the mother liquor was allowed to drain off, the crystals were placed upon bibulous paper, and finally dried in vacuo, over oil of vitriol. They are {111} of a tabular form; when held between the fingers for a moment, they become liquid. They are deliquescent and dissolve readily in water.

Combinations with the Alkaline Earths.

The baryta salt was prepared by adding the acid to carbonate of baryta in excess, which had been previously mixed with water; a gentle heat was applied, and, when the disengagement of carbonic acid had ceased, the excess of carbonate was filtered off; the filtrate was evaporated very carefully, until aqueous vapour ceased to be given off, it remained a transparent gummy mass, readily soluble in water.

The strontia, lime, and magnesia salts were prepared in the same manner as the baryta salt. The two former are crystalline, and do not deliquesce by exposure to the atmosphere; they are soluble. The lime salt crystallizes in nacreous plates; it effloresces when exposed to the atmosphere; it is beautifully white.

The magnesia salt would not crystallize, therefore it was evaporated to dryness, at a temperature not exceeding 120° Fahr. It forms a light white soluble powder, sweet to the taste, and strong in the char­ac­ter­is­tic odour of valerianic acid.

Combinations with Metallic Oxides.

The alumina, chromium, and nickel salts were prepared by the direct combination of the hydrates of those bases with the acid.

The alumina and chromium salts are in powder, and are soluble.

The nickel salt is in crystalline masses, of an apple-green color, soluble in water.

The cobalt salt was also prepared by the direct way; the flocculent blue precipitate, obtained by precipitation from nitrate of cobalt, by means of caustic potash, after being well washed, was dissolved in valerianic acid, filtered and very carefully evaporated to dryness; it occurs in masses of a rose color, and is soluble.

The manganese salt was also prepared in the direct way by {112} mixing an excess of the hydrated oxide with water and the acid, allowing them to remain in contact for some time, filtering and evaporating at a temperature not exceeding 120° Fahr., until crystals appeared on the surface of the fluids; it was set aside, and after a while, the crystals were separated from the mother liquor. The latter being again evaporated, another crop of crystals was obtained; it occurs in glistening scales of a flesh color, and dissolves very readily in water.

The valerianate of protoxide of iron was prepared by the double decomposition of valerianate of baryta and proto-sulphate of iron; it can only be kept in a state of solution, as least the heat and exposure to the air converts it immediately into the peroxide salt.

The valerianate of peroxide of iron, was prepared by bringing together neutral cold solutions of perchloride of iron and valerianate of soda, the precipitated valerianate was thrown upon a filter, well washed, to separate the chloride of sodium, and dried without heat on a porous tile; it occurs as a bright red loose powder, perfectly soluble in alcohol.

The valerianate of zinc was prepared according to the directions in the Dublin Pharmacopœia; it occurs in small smooth crystals, somewhat like boracic acid; it is soluble in water and alcohol.

The lead salt was prepared by decomposing freshly precipitated carbonate of lead with the acid, filtering and evaporating at a low temperature. In due time, crystals made their appearance in the fluid; but (probably from the temperature being too high) they subsequently disappeared; and, upon further evaporation, it remained in the form of a syrup.

The silver salt was produced by the double decomposition of nitrate of silver, and valerianate of soda. The valerianate of silver being very insoluble, was precipitated as a white powder; after washing with cold water, it was dried in the dark on a porous tile. By exposure to the light, it becomes black.

The salt of the suboxide of mercury was also prepared by double decomposition. It is a loose, yellowish white powder. {113}

The salt of oxide of mercury was prepared by agitating together, the yellow hydrate of the oxide with water and valerianic acid. After some time, I obtained a colorless liquid, which, upon evaporation at a temperature not exceeding 100° Fahr., yielded crystals which, however, speedily fell into a red powder. I therefore again repeated the operation, omitting the application of heat; the solution was set aside, when in the course of two or three weeks, I obtained this salt in prismatic white crystals.

The bismuth salt was obtained by the addition of valerianate of soda, to a solution of bismuth in nitric acid, which was nearly saturated with carbonate of soda. It occurs as a loose white powder.

The copper salt was obtained by double decomposition, and occurs as a beautiful green powder.

The cadmium salt was prepared in the same manner as the zinc salt. It occurs in crystalline scales, resembling in form that of zinc, but larger.

Combinations with Organic Bases.

The valerianate of oxide of ethyle (valerianic ether) was obtained by distilling, together, alcohol, oil of vitriol, and valerianic acid; it was well washed, dried over chloride of calcium, and re-distilled. It is an oily liquid, with a penetrating smell of fruit, and of valerian; of specific gravity, 0,894. (Otto). It is miscible with alcohol and ether: it has an agreeable, cool, and aromatic taste.

I prepared the valerianate of quina, both by double decomposition, and by direct combination of the base with the acid.

That by double decomposition, was prepared by adding to a warm solution of neutral sulphate of quinine, a warm solution of valerianate of baryta; the mixture was allowed to stand for a while, and filtered to separate the insoluble sulphate of baryta; the filtrate was evaporated at a temperature of about 100°, until crystals made their appearance, when it was set aside for {114} further cry­stal­li­za­tion. The crystals obtained by this process are in silky tufts and perfectly white.

The valerianate of quina, made by the direct combination of the acid with the base, was effected by triturating, in a mortar, freshly precipitated quina, with water and valerianic acid, until the quina had disappeared. It was then exposed in shallow dishes, to a current of air; when sufficiently evaporated, octohedral crystals were formed. Valerianate of quina in both forms dissolves readily in water.

When a solution of valerianate of quina is evaporated at a temperature of 130°, it does not crystallize, but has the appearance of an oil.

From the different appearances of this salt, it is highly probable that they each differ in composition. This phenomena is worthy of a thorough investigation.

The morphia salt was prepared in the direct way. It crystallizes in silky tufts; it dissolves readily in water.

Although but three of the salts of valerianic acid are employed in medicine, namely, those of peroxide of iron, oxide of zinc, and quinine, there appears to me no reason why those of potash, soda, ammonia, teroxide of bismuth, and oxide of ethyle, (valerianic ether), should not be employed by the physician.

In conclusion, I must express my sincere thanks to Mr. Savory, for his kindness in having placed at my disposal the materials necessary for the preparation of this series.

ESSENCE OF PINE APPLE.

The above essence is, as already known, butyric ether, more or less diluted with alcohol; to obtain which pure, on the large scale and economically, the following process is recommended:—

Dissolve 6

s. of sugar and half an ounce of tartaric acid, in 26

s. of boiling water. Let the solution stand for several days; then add 8 ounces of putrid cheese broken up with 3

s. {115} of skimmed and curdled sour milk, and 3

s. of levigated chalk. The mixture should be kept and stirred daily in a warm place, at the temperature of about 92° Fahr., as long as gas is evolved, which is generally the case for five or six weeks.

The liquid thus obtained, is mixed with an equal volume of cold water, and 8

s. of crystallized carbonate of soda, previously dissolved in water, added. It is then filtered from the precipitated carbonate of lime; the filtrate is to be evaporated down to 10

s., when 5¹⁄₂ lbs. of sulphuric acid, previously diluted with an equal weight of water, are to be carefully added. The butyric acid, which separates on the surface of the liquid as a dark-colored oil, is to be removed, and the rest of the liquid distilled; the distillate is now neutralized with carbonate of soda, and the butyric acid separated as before, with sulphuric acid.

The whole of the crude acid is to be rectified with the addition of an ounce of sulphuric acid to every pound. The distillate is then saturated with fused chloride of calcium, and re-distilled. The product will be about 28 ounces of pure butyric acid. To prepare the butyric acid, or essence of pine apple, from this acid, proceed as follows:—Mix, by weight, three parts of butyric acid with six parts of alcohol, and two parts of sulphuric acid in a retort, and submit the whole, with a sufficient heat, to a gentle distillation, until the fluid which passes over ceases to emit a fruity odor. By treating the distillate with chloride of calcium, and by its re-distillation, the pure ether may be obtained.

The boiling point of butyric ether is 238° Fahr. Its specific gravity, 0,904, and its formula C₁₂ H₁₂ O₄, or C₄ H₅ O + C₈ H₇ O₃.

Bensch’s process, above described, for the production of butyric acid, affords a remarkable exemplification of the extraordinary transformations that organic bodies undergo in contact with ferment, or by catalytic action. When cane sugar is treated with tartaric acid, especially under the influence of heat, it is converted into grape sugar. This grape sugar, in the {116} presence of decomposing nitrogenous substances, such as cheese, is transformed in the first instance into lactic acid, which combines with the lime of the chalk. The acid of the lactate of lime, thus produced, is by the further influence of the ferment changed into butyric acid. Hence, butyrate of lime is the final result of the catalytic action in the process we here have recommended.

ON A REMARKABLE SPECIMEN OF DECOMPOSED CHLOROFORM. BY JONATHAN PEREIRA, M.D., F.R.S., Physician to the London Hospital.

In July of the present year I received from Mr. Grattan, apothecary of Belfast, a specimen of chloroform, accompanied with a note, from which the following is an extract:—

“Some weeks prior to October 25, 1851, I received from my friend Dr. M’Killen a small bottle of chloroform which he had had of me two or three months previously, and which he stated was subject to very singular changes of color, despite the stopper never having been removed.

At the time he handed it to me the fluid exhibited a delicate pink tint, as though colored with cochineal, and was put aside in a glass case in my shop, of which I kept the key myself. The case was exposed to the diffused light of a large shop window but not to the direct rays of the sun.

Conceiving that the chloroform had by some unobserved means or other become accidentally colored, I took very little interest in the matter, and was not surprised to find it fade gradually, and in a short time become perfectly colorless—and I made a note to that effect upon the 25th of October, {117} concluding that there must have been some error of observation on the part of Dr. M’Killen.

On the 16th of November, however, it again began to change, and the enclosed notes were made, from time to time, as I happened to have opportunity of noticing it.

I tried it under different conditions of light and temperature, without their exerting apparent influence upon it, and being unable to form the slightest conjecture as to the cause or nature of the molecular disturbance which produces these chromatic changes, have taken the liberty of forwarding it to you, should you consider it worthy of attention.

It is at present colorless, and the stopper fast in; and I would only suggest that, before removing the stopper, it might be well to observe for yourself whether changes similar to those I have noticed may not occur again.

• 1850.
  • Oct.
    • 25. Perfectly colorless.
  • Nov.
    • 16. Faint Pink.
    • 18. Fading.
    • 25. Faint pink, as on the 16th.
    • 26. Dirty-looking, neutral tint, without any pink.
  • Dec.
    • 17. Pink again.
    • 21. Ditto, and deeper.
    • 27. Perfectly colorless, after having passed through various shades of pink.
• 1851.
  • Jan.
    • 10. Again pink.
    • 11. Faint neutral tint.
  • Feb.
    • 19. Perfectly colorless. On shaking the vial, observed a deposit on its sides, like small crystals, but cannot say that they were not there before.
    • 21. Pink and deeper than ever.
  • March
    • 10. Deep pink.
    • 12. Faint pink.
    • 13. Colorless.
    • 28. Colorless.
  • May
    • 16. Colorless. No change having occurred between the 13th March and 16th May, concluded too hastily that the property of changing its color, upon whatever cause dependent, had been lost, for on
    • 17. It again became faintly pinked.
    • 19. Deeper pink.
    • 22. Fading.
    • 24. Fading.
    • 31. Colorless.
  • June
    • 13. Again pink.
    • 16. Ditto.
    • 17. Colorless.
  • July
    •  2. Ditto, up to present date, when it again became pink.
    •  3. Deeper.
    •  5. Still very deep.
    •  7. Fading
    • 13. Perfectly colorless.

The foregoing changes of color were not influenced by any change of temperature between 27° and 86° Fahr., nor by exposure to, nor seclusion from light. The stopper being fast, atmospheric pressure cannot have been connected therewith. Whether it may have been influenced by electrical changes, am not prepared to say.” {118}

• 1850.
  • Oct.
    • 25. Perfectly colorless.
  • Nov.
    • 16. Faint Pink.
    • 18. Fading.
    • 25. Faint pink, as on the 16th.
    • 26. Dirty-looking, neutral tint, without any pink.
  • Dec.
    • 17. Pink again.
    • 21. Ditto, and deeper.
    • 27. Perfectly colorless, after having passed through various shades of pink.
• 1851.
  • Jan.
    • 10. Again pink.
    • 11. Faint neutral tint.
  • Feb.
    • 19. Perfectly colorless. On shaking the vial, observed a deposit on its sides, like small crystals, but cannot say that they were not there before.
    • 21. Pink and deeper than ever.
  • March
    • 10. Deep pink.
    • 12. Faint pink.
    • 13. Colorless.
    • 28. Colorless.
  • May
    • 16. Colorless. No change having occurred between the 13th March and 16th May, concluded too hastily that the property of changing its color, upon whatever cause dependent, had been lost, for on
    • 17. It again became faintly pinked.
    • 19. Deeper pink.
    • 22. Fading.
    • 24. Fading.
    • 31. Colorless.
  • June
    • 13. Again pink.
    • 16. Ditto.
    • 17. Colorless.
  • July
    • 2. Ditto, up to present date, when it again became pink.
    • 3. Deeper.
    • 5. Still very deep.
    • 7. Fading
    • 13. Perfectly colorless.

The specimen of chloroform sent me by Mr. Grattan was, in July, quite colorless, and on the sides of the bottle a few minute crystals were observed. The stopper of the bottle was, however, so firmly fixed in that I could not remove it, and I, therefore, placed the bottle on the mantel-shelf in my library exposed to diffused light, for the purpose of observing the changes which its contents would undergo.

In the course of a few weeks it began to acquire a pinkish or amethystine tint, as described by Mr. Grattan. This slightly augmented in intensity for a few days, and then became somewhat paler. But for several weeks, during which it remained in the same situation, it never became colorless, though the intensity of the color was frequently changing.

The color of the liquid was precisely that of a weak solution of permanganate of potash.

Some weeks ago I placed the bottle in a dark cupboard, and at the expiration of about three weeks found that the liquid had become quite colorless. As the stopper was still immovable, I was obliged to cut off the neck of the bottle to get at the contents. I found that the chloroform had undergone decomposition, and had acquired a powerful and irritating odor, somewhat allied to, but distinct from, that of hypochlorous acid. The vapor yielded white fumes when a rod moistened with solution of ammonia was brought in contact with it, blue litmus paper was reddened but not bleached by it. A few drops of the liquid were placed on a watch glass and volatilized by a spirit lamp; they left scarcely any appreciable residue.

The crystals which lined the bottle were then examined. They were few in number, and not larger than pins’ points. They were white, and when examined by the microscope, were found to be six-sided pyramids, like the crystals of sulphate of potash. Some of them were heated to dull redness in a test tube, without undergoing any appreciable change. When heated on the point of a moistened thread in the outer cone of the flame of a candle, they communicated a violet-white tinge to the flame, char­ac­ter­is­tic of a potash-salt. They readily {119} dissolved in water, and the solution did not yield any precipitate on the addition of a solution of nitrate of baryta, showing that the salt was not a sulphate. The solution was boiled with nitric acid, and then treated with a solution of nitrate of baryta, but no precipitate was observed. Nitrate of silver produced in the aqueous solution of the crystals a white precipitate, soluble in ammonia, but insoluble in nitric acid.

Whether these crystals were in any way connected with the change of color which this sample of chloroform underwent, I am unable to determine; but I suspect not. I am anxious, however, to draw the attention of others to the subject, in the hope that larger specimens of the salt may be obtained for examination. For at present the circumstances under which chloroform frequently undergoes decomposition are very obscure. Except in this instance, I have never met with, nor heard of, any sample of chloroform which underwent these remarkable changes of color.

The chloroform was transferred into another bottle, on the sides of which a few minute crystals are now formed. But since the removal of the stopper the pink color has not re-appeared.

I have written to Mr. Grattan to obtain, if possible, further information respecting this specimen of chloroform. But he tells me he has not any more of the sample, and has no means of ascertaining by whom it was made, as about the time it was purchased of him he had in his shop parcels from London, Edinburgh and Dublin, as well as a small quantity prepared in Belfast, and he is quite unprepared to say from which of them it was taken.

I suspect that the pink color of the chloroform must have been due to the presence of manganese. If so, was this metal derived from the chloride of lime used in the manufacture of chloroform? Mr. Squire informs me that he has occasionally found the solution of chlorinated soda to become of a pinkish hue after being prepared a few days (not immediately), and that he has attributed it to some manganese carried over with the {120} chlorine gas, as he does not remember having observed this change when the gas had been passed through water before entering the solution of carbonate of soda.

If this suspicion should prove well founded, it is obvious that the purity of the chloride of lime employed in the preparation of chloroform deserves the attention of the manufacturer.

Postscript.—Subsequently to the reading of this paper before the Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Society, I have received from Mr. William Huskisson, jun., a specimen of pink chloroform, which, he informs me, owes its remarkable color to the presence of manganese, derived from peroxide of manganese employed in the purification of chloroform, as recommended by Dr. Gregory, (see Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Journal, vol. ix., p. 580.)

Mr. W. Huskisson, jun., tells me, that he has observed in his specimen neither the alterations of color nor the crystals met with in the specimen sent me by Mr. Grattan.

The chairman stated, that he had never, in the various specimens of chloroform, of which his firm had always a large quantity in stock, observed the pink color described by Dr. Pereira, nor had he ever seen any crystals deposited in the bottles, but he would have a more minute examination made with the view of ascertaining whether such existed. When the chloroform was first drawn over, and before it was purified, it frequently possessed more or less of a brown color, but this was quite distinct from the character described in the paper which had just been read.

Mr. D. Hanbury observed, that the use of manganese had been suggested in the process for purifying chloroform, and its presence might in this way be accounted for.

Mr. Barnes thought it desirable that the decomposed chloroform should be examined for formic acid. Although constantly subject to decomposition, no satisfactory explanation of the nature of the change had yet been afforded.

{121}

REPORT PRESENTED TO THE ACADEMY OF MEDICINE OF PARIS, ON THE SUBSTITUTION OF AN AR­TI­FIC­IAL IO­DU­RET­TED OIL FOR COD LIV­ER OIL. By a Commission composed of Messrs. Gibert, Ricord, Soubeiren and Guibourt.

On the 20th of August, 1850, the Academy appointed a commission, composed as above, to whom was submitted a memoir, by M. Personne, entitled, “Researches on the Cod-liver and Skate Oils; and on the preparation of an ioduretted oil, by which they may be replaced as Medicinal Agents.” A note was also submitted to us on the same subject, from M. Deschamps, and another from M. Marchall, the latter of which claimed for the author priority in the employment of ioduretted oil of almonds, as a substitute for cod-liver oil.

We proceed now to report the results of our examinations of these communications, and of the investigations to which the enquiry has led.

Cod-liver oil has long been the object of a considerable commerce arising principally from the decided superiority which it possesses over other animal oils, for the preparation of chamois leather; but it has only been within about twenty years that it has been used in medicine. It was first employed as a remedy for rheumatic pains, then for bronchial affections, and subsequently as a remedy for scrofula and consumption. It now constitutes one of the medicinal agents most extensively used, and one of those, on the action of which medical men place the greatest reliance, as a remedy capable either of curing very formidable diseases, or of retarding their fatal termination.

The most important memoir which has been published on cod-liver oil is that of Dr. Jongh, in which three kinds of oil are described as met with in commerce, which are called the black, the brown, and the white cod-liver oil. These oils are represented to consist, principally, of oleic and margaric acids, and glycerine, and, as accessory bodies, of butyric acid, acetic {122} acid; some principles appertaining to the bile, a non-azotised yellow or brown coloring matter, called gaduine, iodine, phosphorus, and some inorganic salts. In France, Messrs. Girardin and Preisser have been engaged in comparing the effects of the oil obtained from the cod with that obtained from the ray; and they advocate the superiority of the latter for medicinal use. But this superiority seems to depend, in part, on the circumstance, that the oil obtained from the livers of the ray, being carefully prepared by the pharmaciens, and being transparent, and of a light yellow color, proves less offensive to the patients than the cod-liver oil of commerce, which is generally thick, of a dark color, and has a disagreeable flavor. This, however, is scarcely admitted at the present time. Moreover, it appears from recent observations, that the above characters cannot be much depended upon for distinguishing the two kinds of oil, in consequence of their being so variable.

According to Messrs. Girardin and Preisser, these two oils contain iodine in the state of iodide of potassium, and in quantity much less than had been indicated by Dr. Jongh. The latter author gives, as follows, the quantity of iodine in 1,000 parts of oil:—

Messrs. Girardin and Preisser have found in a litre (thirty-five fluid ounces),

According to M. Gobley, a litre of ray-liver oil, prepared by direct action of the fire, contains twenty-five centigrammes of iodide of potassium. M. Goodley was unable to find phosphorus in this oil.

Such were the principal analytical results known when M. Personne presented his memoir to the Academy. The uncertainty which appeared to attach to the subject, and the {123} variations in the statements of chemists, induced him to put to himself the following questions:—

1st. Do the oils of cod and ray-liver contain iodide of potassium or iodine?

2nd. Do the different sorts of these oils contain the same proportion of iodine?

3rd. Do these oils contain phosphorus, to which their effects may be partly attributed?

For detecting the presence of the iodine, M. Personne saponified the oil with an excess of caustic potassa, incinerated the soap, and treated the product of incineration with strong alcohol. The alcohol was evaporated, the residue dissolved in water, and to this, solution of starch and sulphuric acid were added. The quantity of iodine was estimated by the intensity of the color; it is too small to be estimated by the balance.

Mr. Personne examined in this way the dark brown and thick cod-liver oil, such as is employed in the hospitals of Paris; the transparent and nearly colorless oil of English commerce; and the ray-liver oil prepared by the direct action of a moderate heat, and subsequent filtration. The following are the results:—

1st. The brown cod-liver oil of the hospitals of Paris contains more iodine than the fine white oil of English commerce.

2nd. It also contains more iodine than the ray-liver oil, and, moreover, the quantity present is certainly less than a decigramme of iodine in a kilogramme of oil (1 in 10,000.)

3rd. The residue of the liver, left after the preparation of the oil, contains much more iodine than the oil itself.

With regard to the question as to whether the iodine exists in cod-liver oil in the state of iodide of potassium, or directly combined with the oil, M. Personne, while he admits the difficulty of satisfactorily determining the point, inclines to favor the opinion that the iodine is directly combined with the elements of the oil.

[The different methods which have been suggested for the preparation of the ioduretted oil proposed as a substitute for {124} cod-liver oil are described. A discussion follows of the claims of the authors, whose communications were submitted to the commissioners, for having first introduced the artificial ioduretted oil, which discussion is also omitted here as being uninteresting to our readers. The commissioners next proceed to state the result of the evidence obtained, by the medical members of the commission, of the therapeutical action of the artificial ioduretted oil.]

M. Gibert administered the ioduretted oil for periods varying from several weeks to several months, to patients suffering with eruptive complaints and scrofulous tumors; and, in some instances, found the benefit to be greater than from the use of cod-liver oil, under similar circumstances. He states, that he does not think he has tried it in a sufficient number of cases, and for a sufficient length of time, to enable him to state decidedly what its absolute value is as a specific for eruptive and scrofulous complaints; but the results he has obtained are sufficient to prove, that it is easy of ad­min­i­stra­tion and devoid of any injurious quality, and that it possesses a resolutive action, which renders it a valuable remedy for certain chronic eruptions and glandular swellings.

M. Ricord has employed the ioduretted oil for twelve months, in a great number of cases of scrofula, some of which were considered to be of venereal origin. He thus obtained excellent results in the treatment of strumous bubo, tubercular epididymis, and in some cases of scrofulous enlargement of the joints, etc., and other things being equal, curable cases were cured, or relief afforded, much more quickly by the use of the artificial ioduretted oil than by the natural cod-liver oil.

The average dose in which the ioduretted oil was administered was sixty grammes (

ij.), which was sometimes raised to 100 grammes (

iiiss.) The patient generally took it without inconvenience. It was only in a few instances, where the dose had been raised, that vomiting, colic, and diarrhœa were produced. If the precautions which are necessary in the ad­min­i­stra­tion of every remedy be observed, and the degrees of {125} susceptibility of the patients, together with all special conditions, properly studied, it may be affirmed that the ioduretted oil is a medicine of great value and that it presents considerable advantage over the cod-liver oil.—Journal de Pharmacie, in Pharmaceutic Journal.

EDITORIAL.

INTERNAL USE OF ATROPINE. ABRIDGED FROM THE JANUARY NUMBER OF THE LONDON JOURNAL OF MEDICINE.

In the practice of English and American physicians, atropine (atropia) has been hitherto used chiefly as an external application, to dilate the pupil, but, as far as we know, has never been administered internally. In France, the powdered belladonna root has been strongly recommended as affording a reliable and efficient preparation; in this country, the leaves and the extracts and tincture derived from them are alone officinal. Dr. Lusanna, an Italian physician, has ventured upon the internal use of atropia, and, according to our notions, in very large doses. He commences its ad­min­i­stra­tion in doses of one-thirtieth of a grain every three or four hours, gradually increasing the dose according to the effect produced. In some instances he went so far as to give one-third of a grain five times a day.

It may be given, according to Dr. L, in solution in alcohol, or in acetic or some other mild acid. Pills and powders, from the difficulty of apportioning the dose he deems unadvisable. The alcoholic solution has a taste somewhat like that of quinine, but feebler, and not particularly disagreeable. The patient soon becomes habituated to the remedy, and the dose has to be increased. In cases of neuralgia he recommends the application of one-fourteenth to one sixth of a grain to a blistered surface, in the form of pomade. Dr. L. carries the ad­min­i­stra­tion of atropia so far as to produce what we would call its toxicological effects.

1st. Dilatation and immobility of the pupil. Between fourteen and fifteen minutes after the exhibition of from one-twenty-fourth to one-thirtieth of a grain of atropia, the pupil becomes enormously dilated. If the remedy be persevered in the dilatation passes of, but the iris becomes immoveable, and the pupil no longer contracts on exposure to light. When the remedy is stopped, as the other phenomena produced by its exhibition subside, the pupil again becomes extremely dilated. Previous to this it commences to oscillate, contracting slightly when exposed to strong light, and dilating again in the shade. This indicates that the {126} effects of the remedy are disappearing. The dilatation of the pupil is the last of the phenomena to subside, being sometimes met with eight days, or more after the suspension of the atropia.

2. Disturbance of vision. Objects at first seem hazy and ill-defined, persons are not recognized, and it is impossible to read or write. If the dose be increased, objects seem covered with a dark shade, and vision may be wholly lost. Every fresh dose has a sudden and marked effect in diminishing vision, and on its suspension the disturbance of vision disappears with equal rapidity. In one or two days the sight is perfectly restored.

3. Disturbance of Intellect. At first the patient appears dull and stupid, then there is vertigo and confusion of ideas.

4. Hallucinations of sight and hearing. Objects are seen double or greatly magnified; motes and insects flit before the eyes; well known objects assume strange and monstrous forms, or horrible phantoms are seen. The hearing is more rarely affected. Buzzing, tinkling, hissing and whistling are sometimes heard.

5. Anaesthesia. Touch remains apparently perfect, but pain is relieved or blunted. The patient does not seem to suffer from painful tactile impressions.

6. Dryness of the mouth and throat were invariably felt. At first this seemed a purely nervous phenomenon, but if the medication was continued, from the diminution of the salivary secretion it became real.

7. The appetite is early lost, and there is no thirst; but on the cessation of the remedy it returns sharper than ever. Speech is early embarrassed, and the power of swallowing early diminished, becomes finally lost.

8. Delirium alternating with stupor or succeeded by it, is produced by one-tenth of a grain of atropia at the commencement of the treatment, or by one-fourth of a grain later, or by any sudden increase of the dose. The delirium is commonly gay and ridiculous; in one instance only was it mournful. When these phenomena are at all intense, they subside slowly. For several days after the cessation of the medicine, there is confusion and slowness of thought.

9. Redness of the skin was observed in but a single case.

10. Torpor and paralytic tremblings. As the patient gets under the influence of the atropia, the legs become weak and trembling, gradually lose their strength, and he is confined to bed. They may be still agitated by twitching, and convulsive movements.

11. Paralysis of the sphincters of the rectum and bladder. This is the highest point to which, according to Dr. L., the medicative action of atropia can attain. In one case, only, the fæces and urine were passed involuntarily.

The functions of respiration, circulation, and calorification, were never affected by atropia.

After this long catalogue of serious symptoms, Dr. Lusanna rather naively observes, he has never seen any truly alarming results arise from the use of atropia! Should they occur, he recommends wine as the best antidote.

{127}

CULTIVATION OF OPIUM.

The superiority of some specimens of European opium has been noticed by previous observers, and depends probably on the greater care bestowed on its preparation and on the cultivation of the plant.

CHROMIC ACID AS AN ESCHAROTIC.

PUBLIC HYGEINE.

CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY;

Knapp’s Technology belongs to a class of books char­ac­ter­is­tic of the present day, and of the highest and most extended usefulness. Giving the practical details of the arts in connection with the scientific principles on which they are founded, it extends the views of the manufacturer and the economist, and places him on the right path for further improvement. To the American it presents the further advantage of ample and precise details of what is being done in Great Britain and on the Continent of Europe. All engaged in pursuits with which chemistry has any connection (and with what is it not now connected?) will find in the various volumes of the Technology, valuable information in regard to their own peculiar avocations, while the variety of its information and the copiousness of its illustrations, gives it a high interest to the general reader.

At a meeting of the College of Pharmacy of the city of New York, held on Thursday, 25th of March, the following gentlemen were elected officers for the ensuing year.

• • GEO. D. COGGESHALL, President.
  • JOHN H. CURRIE, 1st Vice President.
  • WILLIAM L. RUSHTON, 2d Vice President.
  • OLIVER HULL, 3d Vice President.
  • JAMES S. ASPINWALL, Treasurer.
  • B. W. BULL, Secretary.

TRUSTEES.

• WM. J OLLIFFE,
• JOHN MEAKIN,
• THOMAS B. MERRICK,
• EUGENE DUPREY,
• R. J. DAVIES,
• JUNIUS GRIDLEY,
• WM. HEGEMAN,
• GEORGE WILSON,
• THOMAS T. GREEN.

{129}

NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. MAY, 1852.

NOTES IN PHARMACY, No. 2. BY BENJAMIN CANAVAN.

TINCT. FERRI AETHEREA.—At the in­stance of one of our phy­si­cians, I made some of the above pre­par­a­tion for a lady pa­tient of his, who, after having used the other pre­par­a­tions of Iron “ad nauseam,” had taken it with benefit in Europe under the name of “Bestucheff’s tinc­ture,” as which, it at one time enjoyed great popularity, so that a very large sum was given to the author in purchase of it by the Czarina Catharine. After the com­po­si­tion became known it fell into disuse, almost justifying us in reversing the quotation from Celsus,—

“Morbos autem, non remediis, sed verbis curari.”

It presents the metal in a different chemical state from what it is in the muriated tincture, viz: a very soluble deuto chloride; no acid is present and there are besides the anodyne and anti-spasmodic properties of the ethereal spirit, rendering it peculiarly appropriate in hysterical affections; and being pleasant to the taste and miscible with water, it is not at all repulsive.—Supposing it may prove useful elsewhere and to others, I subjoin the formula I have used, and to which I give the preference, as being the most complete. It is original in the Austrian Pharmacopœia of 1820, whence it has been copied into many French formularies, under the name of “teinture étherée de {130} chlorure de fer,” and may be found with a number of other formulæ for the same preparation in the “Pharmocopée Unverselle” of Jourdan.

• Acidi hydro chlorici
• iv.
• Acidi hydro nitrici
• i.
• Limatura. Ferriqs. saturare acida.

Add the iron filings very gradually, and in small quantity at a time to the acids mixed together, in a porcelain mortar of ten or twelve inch diameter, and allow each portion to be dissolved before another is added, and so proceed until saturation is complete. Decant; evaporate to dryness in a sand bath; dissolve the residue in a quantity of water equal in weight to itself, and to each ounce of this solution add six ounces of sulphuric ether, agitate them well together and separate the supernatant ethereal solution, to which add four times its bulk of alcohol; finally, expose it to the action of the sun’s rays until the color is altogether discharged. The dose is twenty to thirty drops.

MUCILAGO (GUMMI) ACACLÆ.—Among the many useful hints which have appeared in the New York Journal of Pharmacy, in relation to several formulæ of the U. S. P., I perceive the preparation mucilage of gum arabic has been deemed worthy of a supervisory notice, and having experienced some annoyance with regard to it, arising simply from the fact that the officinal preparation has been heretofore entirely overlooked by apothecaries generally, each one instituting a formula for himself, I have been very much gratified by the result of adhering strictly to the formula of the Pharmacopœia, and would take the liberty to say that as the formulæ of all the Pharmacopœias of countries wherein our language is spoken are alike, it surely would not be productive of any advantage to introduce an exception to this conformity, to suit a local peculiarity, arising, to say the least, from inadvertence. Besides the thickness of the officinal mucilage is not much greater than that of syrup of gum, and is even absolutely necessary for the chief proposes for which it is intended or prescribed, viz: the suspension of weighty metallic {131} oxydes, &c., and the holding balsams, oils, &c., in mixtures,—much benefit then would, so far as my experience goes, accrue from the apothecary confining himself strictly to the officinal mucilage, and as individual formulæ are based upon it, the re-compounding them from transcribed versions would be rendered more accurate. This “whittling” away of standards, to make them correspond to the shortcomings of negligence or parsimony, has only the effect of rendering “confusion worse confounded.”

MISTURA AMYGDALARUM.—Being a work of some hour or so’s duration to prepare the almond emulsion ab initio, it has been usual to keep the ingredients in the form of paste, from a proportionate quantity of which the mixture is made when required. The paste does not keep, becoming musty and sometimes exceedingly hard. I have therefore adopted the plan of keeping the almonds already bleached and well dried, in which state they do not undergo any change and thus is made all the preparation that can be, to expedite the process.

LIQ. ARSENIT. POTASS.—On taking up, the other day, a shop bottle in which Fowler’s solution had been kept for some half a score or dozen of years, I perceived it to exhale a strong garlicky odor char­ac­ter­is­tic of free metallic arsenic. On examining the bottle which is of the ordinary flint glass, the inner surface presented the appearance of being coated or rather corroded, and having a metallic lustre so far up as the bottle was generally occupied by the solution, and in the upper part several specks were visible, of the same character, as if they had been produced by the sublimation of the corrosive agent. The coating was not affected by any amount of friction nor by alkalies but was slowly dissolved by acetic acid, from which iodide of potassium threw down a precipitate of iodide of lead.—Deeming, therefore, the decomposition to have arisen from the lead contained in the flint glass I have since then kept the solution in green glass bottles.

{132}

LIQUOR MAGNESIÆ CITRATIS. THOS. S. WIEGAND, PHILADELPHIA.

The attention which has been given to this article by phar­ma­ceu­tists, both on account of its pleasantness and its great tendency to change, has induced me to offer the following observations.

The advantage of the plan proposed is that a perfectly satisfactory article can be furnished in five or eight minutes, thus rendering unnecessary any attempt to make the preparation permanent at the expense of its remedial value. That this is the manner in which the public are supplied, save at stores where large quantities are sold, there can be but little doubt, from the experiments of Professor Proctor of Philadelphia, detailed in the 23rd volume of the American Journal of Pharmacy, p.p. 214 and 216, which show conclusively that a permanent solution of citrate of magnesia must be a decidedly acid one.

Another method for making a soluble citrate has been devised by Dorvault, which is published in his treatise, entitled “L’officine;” but from certain difficulties in manipulation his process cannot come into very general use.

The formula offered is—

Take, of carbonate of magnesia, in powder, five drachms, boiling water five fluid ounces, throw the magnesia upon the water in a shallow vessel, when thoroughly mixed, pour five sixths of the pulp into a strong quart bottle, fitted with cork and string for tying down; then make a solution of seven and a half drachms of citric acid in two fluid ounces of water, pour it into the magnesia mixture, cork and tie down immediately; when the solution has been effected (which will require but a minute and a half, or two minutes,) empty it into a bottle capable of holding twelve fluid ounces, containing two fluid ounces of syrup of citric acid, add the remaining pulp of carbonate of magnesia, nearly fill the bottle with water, and cork instantly, {133} securing it with twine or wire; if the carbonate be of good quality it will be entirely dissolved in seven minutes.

Of course it is not intended that the carbonate of magnesia can be rubbed to powder, the water boiled, the bottles washed and fitted with strings and corks in the time above mentioned. My plan is to have the bottles prepared with their corks, strings, and syrup in advance, and to keep the carbonate of magnesia in a state of powder for this purpose.

[Continued from the March number.] PRACTICAL HINTS. BY A WHOLESALE DRUGGIST.

BALSAM PERU. For many years past a factitious balsam Peru has been manufactured in a neighboring city in very considerable quantities, and has entered largely into consumption; it is made by dissolving balsam tolu in alcohol. It closely resembles the true balsam, and is calculated to deceive unless subjected to a close examination. If one’s attention is particularly called to it, a smell of alcohol is perceptible. It is, however, easily tested by burning in a spoon or small cup. The factitious balsam readily ignites on the application of flame and burns, as may be supposed, with a blue flame. The true balsam ignites with much more difficulty and emits a dense black smoke, and on the application of considerable heat, the air becomes filled with small feathery flakes of lamp black. This test, together with the sensible properties of appearance, taste and smell, will enable one to determine without doubt as to its genuineness.

LAC SULPHURIS. SULPHUR PRECIPITATUM. MILK OF SULPHUR. This preparation of sulphur is made by boiling sulphur and lime in water, and after filtering, precipitating the sulphur with muriatic acid. It differs from the ordinary sulphur in being in a state of more minute division and being softer and less brittle after having been melted. {134}

When sulphuric acid is used to precipitate the sulphur, sulphate of lime is formed and cannot be separated from the precipitated sulphur by the ordinary process of washing, that salt being insoluble in water; for this reason muriatic acid should be used, as the salt thus formed, the muriate of lime or chloride of calcium is perfectly soluble and can be readily separated from the sulphur by washing.

The ordinary lac sulphuris of commerce, is prepared by the use of sulphuric acid, and in consequence is found to contain a very large proportion of sulphate of lime, or plaster of Paris.—Several specimens examined were found to consist of nearly equal parts of sulphate of lime and sulphur.

The test for the above impurity is by burning in a small cup or spoon. The sulphur burns out entirely, leaving the impurity unaltered. The exact amount of impurity may be determined by weighing the substance before and after burning, and deducting the one weight from the other.

PRECIPITATED CHALK OR CARB. LIME. It is very important that physicians should be able to obtain this preparation of a reliable quality. A preparation purporting to be the above, but in fact nothing more nor less than sulph. lime or plaster of Paris, has, in very considerable quantities entered into consumption within a year or two past. It is difficult to determine between the two from their appearance. The test, however, is very simple and consists in treating the suspected article with muriatic acid. It should dissolve perfectly with brisk effervescence, if it be in reality pure carbonate of lime. If it consists, wholly or in part, of sulphate of lime, the whole or such part remains unaffected by the acid.

Pure muriatic acid should be used, as the commercial acid frequently contains sulphuric acid, in which case a portion of sulphate of lime is formed and remains undissolved.

Magnesia is sometimes found in this preparation, but by accident generally and not by design, as the price of the magnesia offers no inducement for the adulteration.

{135}

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.[9]

• “Una fides, pondus, mensura, moneta sit una,
• Et status illæsus totius orbis erit.”—BUDEUS.

• “One faith, one weight, one measure and one coin,
• Would soon the jarring world in friendship join.”

The confusion of Babel is felt most severely in the matter of weights and measures. Whether we consider the number of names of weights and measures, the similarity of names, the discrepancy in amount between those of the same name, or the irregular relations of those of the same denomination, we find a maze, the intricacies of which we cannot retain in our memory an hour after we have committed them to it. Sometimes, too, we find a farther discrepancy of a surprising nature; as if the authorised pint should not be the exact eighth of the authorised gallon, and so there should be two different quarts, one of two exact pints, and one of a fourth of a gallon, as well as a false gallon of eight exact pints, and a false pint of an eighth of an exact gallon.

[9] Universal Dictionary of Weights and Measures. By J. H. ALEXANDER. Baltimore. W. Menefie & Co. 158 pp. 8vo.

We cannot here trace the genealogy of this multitude; Chaos and old night are the ancestors of them all, except those now prevailing in France. A large number of them are of vegetable origin, from grains of wheat, carob beans, carat seeds, &c. The Accino, the Akey, and innumerable others seem to have had a similar origin. Most measures of length have been derived from the human form, as foot, span, fathom, nail, &c. To originate a new measure or weight has proved much easier than to preserve their uniformity when established. Here legislation has been resorted to. The arm of Henry I. was measured, and a yard of the same length was deposited in the exchequer as a standard. “Thirty-two (afterwards twenty-four) grains of well dried wheat from the middle of a good ear” were to weigh a penny, twenty pence one ounce, and twelve ounces a pound. Science finally carried the matter one step further, and a yard is now ³⁶⁄_39.13929 part of the length of “a pendulum that {136} in a vacuum and at the level of mid-tide, under the latitude of London, shall vibrate seconds of mean time.” The metre, a measure established by science, is ¹⁄_10,000,000 part of the distance from the equator to the north pole. Measures of capacity have been still more difficult to verify, and weights, when depending upon these last, have been involved in further difficulties.—William the Conquerer, enacted that 8 pounds good wheat, 61,440 grains, make a gallon. In England now, 10 pounds of water, 70,000 grains, at 60° Fahr., make a gallon. In France a cubic decimetre of water, at maximum density, 39.2° Fahr., weighs a kilogramme.

But the impotency of law is nowhere shown more strikingly than in its attempts to destroy spurious and useless weights and measures. Thirty of these are said to be prevalent in Scotland at this day; and although Magna Charta required that there should be but one weight in all England, the assize of bread is still regulated by a pound, 16 of which = 17

6 oz. avoirdupois. Still further, it may not always occur to us that English measures, dry and liquid, need translating when their works are reprinted in the United States, as much as the French measures; for the imperial gallon, used for both dry and liquid measures, differs from both our gallons. It contains 1.2006 of our liquid gallons; our dry gallon contains 1.1631 of our liquid gallons.

But it is in the weights of the United States that we are more particularly interested. We will, therefore, take our leave of the rest of 5,400 and more weights and measures which Mr. Alexander has ranged in alphabetical order, from

Let us enquire what are the weights of the United States.—We find but one unambiguous term to measure the rest by, the grain. We have then:

A formidable array truly! From this we see that while an ounce of cork is lighter than an ounce of gold, a pound of cork is heavier than a pound of gold! Nay, further, let the apothecary go to the druggist for a drachm of opium, and he will receive and pay for a drachm avoirdupois, a weight unknown even to Mr. Alexander, although in constant use in this city. But the moment he puts it into his mortar there is not a drachm of it! If he wishes to use a drachm in pills or tincture, he must add more than five grains to it. Could anything be more inconvenient or more prolific in mistakes? To prevent butter from becoming rancid, we are told to mix with it the bark of slippery elm, in the “proportion of a drachm (or dram) to the pound.” Who can tell what it means? Six different proportions might accord with this Delphic response; the most probable is 60:7000. But the grievance to which the apothecary is subject does not all consist in his buying by lighter ounces, and selling by heavier. The subdivisions by which he compounds have no reference to his convenience. Long habit alone can save him from either laborious calculation or risk of error. But still another chance of error comes into the account. Two characters,

and

, are joined to numerals, to indicate {138} quantities; a mistake of these, by either prescriber or apothecary, may prove fatal. A case in point occurred a few years since, well known to many of our readers. A physician, prescribed cyanide of potassium, by a formula in which

had been printed, by mistake, for

. The apothecary, instead of sending him the prescription for correction, as he ought to have done, put it up and sent it with the fearful monition that the dose would prove fatal—and so it did—to the prescriber himself, who took the dose his patient dared not touch. He died in five minutes, a victim to a printer’s error, to his own self confidence, to want of etiquette in the apothecary, and last, not least, to an ill-contrived system of weights.

This brings us to the practical question, What is to be done? All agree that there ought to be a reform. On this point we can do no better than quote the close of Mr. Alexander’s preface.—“Finally,” says he (page vii.) “if I may be allowed, in connection with this work and its appropriate applications, to allude to certain dreams of my own, (as they may be; although I consider them capable, without undue effort, of a more prompt and thorough realisation than seems to be ordinarily anticipated,) as to the prevalence, some day, of an universal conformity of weights and measures, I must acknowledge that such a result was one of the ends I had in view in the original collection of materials. Not that such a work was going to show more emphatically than business men feel, and reflecting men know, the importance of such an universal conformity; or that a book whose pages deal in discords, could, of itself, produce unison; but the first step to any harmonious settlement is, to see clearly, and at a glance, where the differences lie, and what they are.—If a millennial period for this world is ever to come, as many wise have deemed, and pious prayed, it must be preceded by one common language, and one common system of weights and measures, as the basis of intercourse. And the way to that is to be built, not by the violent absorption of other and diverse systems into one, but rather by a compromise into which all may blend. When the Earth, in her historical orbit, shall {139} have reached that point, (as it stood ere mankind were scattered from the plain of Shinar) and not till then, may we begin to hope that her revolutions will be stilled, and that before long the weights and measures of fleeting Time will be merged and lost in the infinite scales and illimitable quantities of Eternity.” We are not sure that we precisely understand the last sentence, and we are sure we dissent entirely from the one that precedes it. No compromise can be of service in bringing about a uniformity in weights and measures. We must either make a better system than the best extant, and ask all men to adopt it, or if the best that human ingenuity and science can devise is already in use, so much the better; let us adopt it with all our heart. Is the French system this best one? We believe it is, nor have we ever heard it called in question.—Why then speak of a new one as desirable? We fear the suggestion is the offspring of a national vanity, which ought to be beneath us. We would not oppose such a motive even to the introduction of the centigrade thermometer, which is much more inconvenient than Fahrenheit’s, and has no one advantage over it in any respect; still less should it bar the progress of a system against which no fault can be alleged, but that it is foreign.

We agree with our author that the introduction of a new system is much easier than is generally supposed. It will not be like the change of a monetary system, where the old coins remain, mingled with the new, to perpetuate the old names.—The change could be, by law, effected next New Year’s day, and all inconvenience from it would be over in a month, save some awkwardness from habit, and two more serious difficulties. One is from the human propensity to bisection. Thus the old hundredweight of 112 pounds is bisected down to 7 pounds, and the grocer will sell half this quantity, 3¹⁄₂ pounds, at a cheaper rate than he will sell 3 pounds or 4. Unfortunately in bisecting 100 we run down too soon to the fractions 12¹⁄₂ and 6¹⁄₄. The French have been obliged to give way to this propensity, and divide the kilogramme in a binary manner, {140} with an unavoidable irregularity, reckoning 31¹⁄₄ grains as 32. Would that 32 × 32 = 1000! Our only remedy is to change the radix of numeration from 10 to 16, a thing impossible but to a universal dictator. The other difficulty is in our measure for land. This must remain in all surveyed tracts in such a shape that 40 acres, and also 5 acres, shall be some multiple of unity.

But shall the apothecary wait the action of government?—This is neither necessary nor desirable. Some relief he ought to have speedily. If he dare not make so great an advance as to adopt the French system, (his truest and most honorable policy,) let all subdivisions of the avoirdupois pound be discarded, except the grain. Introduce the chemists’ weights of 1000, 500, 300, 100, 50, &c. grains, and let all prescriptions be written in grains alone. This, perhaps, is the only feasible course.

We must return once more to our author before taking leave of our readers. The motive for making the collection was one that strikes us as new. It was for ethnological and historical purposes. As the carat points to India as the origin of the diamond trade, so we find in the names, mode of subdivision, and amount of weights and measures evidences of the migrations of races, and of the ancient and obsolete channels in which trade once flowed. The care with which Mr. Alexander seems to have corrected these tables, and adjusted the discordant elements of which they are composed, and corrected the discrepancies between them, makes them more worthy of reliance than anything that has preceded them, and leaves little to be desired that is within the reach of human attainment. After the alphabetical arrangement, are given the weight and measure systems of the “principal countries of the world,” beginning with Abyssinia and ending with Würtemberg. And we have only to add that the mechanical execution of the volume is worthy of the care and labor the author has spent upon it, unsurpassed, in fact, by any book made for use we have ever seen.

{141}

QUINIDINE. BY MR. ROBERT HOWARD.

This alkaloid, which gained a prize in the Great Exhibition, has scarcely yet attracted much attention. Some of the cheaper barks now largely imported from New Grenada contains so much of it that it is, perhaps, as well that it should be more studied. The Cinchona cordifolia, from this part of the continent, is particularly rich in it. It is, however, contained in larger or smaller quantities in the Bolivian and Peruvian barks—the Cinchona Calisaya, Boliviana, rufinervis, and especially ovata.

Referring your readers to a very able paper in your Journal,[10] I beg to add a few facts from my own observations.

[10] Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Journal, vol. ix., p. 322, January, 1850.

The sulphate of quinidine, or β quinine as it is called by some, (Van Heijninger and others,) is so like the sulphate of quinine, that the eye or the taste can with difficulty distinguish them. It forms the same light fibrous cry­stal­li­za­tion, and occupies as large a bulk. It corresponds in appearance with the description given by Winckler, of “chinidine.” (See Pharm. Journ. for April, 1845, vol. iv., p. 468.) He notices that it has “a remarkably white color and a peculiarly faint lustre.” Its most striking char­ac­ter­is­tic is its extreme solubility. Pure sulphate of quinine requires nearly thirty times its weight of boiling water for solution, whilst the sulphate of quinidine dissolves in four parts. On the other hand the pure alkaloid crystallizes readily out of proof spirit and out of ether, whilst quinine does not crystallize out of either. A very good test for the presence of cinchonine in sulphate of quinine is also capable of being applied to detect the presence of β quinine. On this point I would refer for very interesting details to a paper by M. Guibourt, in the Journal de Pharmacie for January in this year.

In your Journal of April, 1843, I gave a test for sulphate of quinine, to which I would again advert, because subsequent {142} experience has proved it to be a tolerable easy, and at the same time exact means of ascertaining its purity. Put 100 grains in a Florence flask with five ounces of distilled water, heat this to brisk ebullition; the sulphate of quinine ought not to be entirely dissolved; add two ounces more water, and again heat it to ebullition; ought to make a perfectly clear solution. If this be allowed to cool for six hours, and the crystals carefully dried in the open air on blotting paper, they will be found to weigh about ninety grains, the mother-liquor may be evaporated and tested with ether, when any cinchonine or β quinine will be easily detected. On examining sulphate of quinine of commerce from several leading manufacturers, I have found all of them give, within a grain or two, the same result, and, in each, indications of a β quinine, though to an unimportant extent.

The above quantity of water (seven ounces) readily dissolves 800 grains of sulphate of β quinine; and if 100 grains of this salt are dissolved in seven ounces of water, the crystals as above weigh only fifty-four grains, thus leaving forty-six grains in solution instead of about ten grains.

The medical effects of β quinine deserve investigation, the chemical constitution and the taste appear to indicate a great similarity if not identity.

ON THE ADULTERATION OF SULPHATE OF QUININE, AND THE MEANS OF DETECTION.

Mr. Zimmer, manufacturer of sulphate of quinine in Frankfort-on-the-Maine, has published the following circular and paper to his correspondents abroad:

Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Feb. 6th, 1852.

You are doubtless, aware that various and partly spurious kinds of sulphate of quinine have for some time past found their way into the market. The substance now frequently {143} mixed with quinine is quinidine. But little positive is as yet known of the medicinal properties of this alkaloid, and whatever may be the result of future experiments, its arbitrary substitution is, under any circumstances, unwarrantable, and renders all fair and honest competition almost impossible.

The importance of the subject has induced me to address a few words to you, that I may submit a simple experiment by means of which the most usual adulterations of quinine may readily be detected.

I have the honor to be, with much respect, &c.
C. ZIMMER.

The high price of genuine Bolivian Cinchona Calisaya, through the monopoly of its export, has given occasion to imports, from other districts, of Cinchonas, the quality of which widely differs from that of the Calisaya, inasmuch as they contain principally quinidine. The lower prices of these barks, regardless of their different constituents, have brought them quickly into use in many factories of quinine, whereby a large quantity of quinine, containing quinidine, has got into the market, causing an undue depreciation in the price of quinine.

The existence of this third cinchona-alkaloid is now established beyond a doubt by ultimate analysis, by the peculiarity of its salts, and by important distinctive tests; and there can be no further question, that quinidine must, equally with cinchonine, be distinguished from quinine. The external characters of sulphate of quinidine differ from those of sulphate of quinine; it has a greater specific gravity and less flocculent cry­stal­li­za­tion. In dry warm air it parts with its water of cry­stal­li­za­tion, without deliquescing or losing its crystallized aspect; lastly, it is far more soluble than sulphate of quinine in cold water and in alcohol.

One of the distinctive properties of the three alkaloids in question, viz., their behavior with ether—places in our hands a ready means of detecting the mixture of cinchonine and {144} quinidine, with quinine. Schweitzer (Lond. Med. Gazette, vol. xxi., p. 175) has already employed ether for the detection of cinchonine with complete success, and his process has, with justice, been subsequently quoted in most manuals, as it answers its purpose completely; cinchonine is known to be entirely insoluble in ether, whatever may be the quantity of ether employed. The solubility of quinidine in ether, as compared with that of quinine, is but slight; ten grains of pure sulphate of quinine dissolve in sixty drops of ether, and twenty drops of spirit of ammonia, while only one grain of sulphate of quinidine is soluble in the same quantity of the fluid; and in proportion quinine containing quinidine will always be less soluble than pure sulphate of quinine.

Guided by this fact I can recommend the following simple and very convenient process for the detection of quinidine and quinine:—

Ten grains of the salt to be examined is to put into a strong test tube, furnished with a tight-fitting cork, to this are to be added ten drops of diluted sulphuric acid, (one acid and five water) with fifteen drops of water, and a gentle heat applied to accelerate the solution. This having been affected, and the solution entirely cooled, sixty drops of officinal sulphuric ether with twenty drops of spirits of ammonia, must be added, and the whole well shaken while the top is closed by the thumb. The tube is then to be closely stopped and shaken gently from time to time, so that the bubbles of air may more readily enter the layer of ether.

If the salt examined be free from cinchonine and quinidine, or contain the latter in no greater proportion than ten per cent., it will be completely dissolved; while on the surface, where contact of the two layers of clear fluid takes place, the mechanical impurities only will be separated (in which respect the various sorts of commercial quinine differ.) After sometime longer the layer of ether becomes hard and gelatinous, after which no further observation is possible.

From the above statement respecting the solubility of {145} quinidine in ether, it appears that the ten grains of the salt to be examined, may contain one grain of quinidine, and still a complete solution with ether and ammonia may follow; but in this case the quinidine will shortly begin to crystallize in the layer of ether. The last trace of quinidine may be yet more definitely detected by employing, instead of the ordinary ether, some other, previously saturated with quinidine, by which means all of the quinidine contained in the quinine must remain undissolved. It is particularly requisite in performing this last experiment to observe, after the shaking, whether all has dissolved, for owing to the great tendency of quinidine to cry­stal­li­za­tion, it may become again separated in a crystalline form, and be a source of error.

If more than a tenth of quinidine or cinchonine be present, there will be found an insoluble precipitate at the limits of the two layers of fluids. If this be quinidine, it will be dissolved on the addition of proportionately more ether, while cinchonine will be unaffected.

It is expressly to be remarked, that the necessity for testing sulphate of quinine, in search of other fraudulent adulterations is not superseded by the above described process.

We have particularly to determine upon the absence of inorganic substances, which may be effected by subjecting to red heat on a platinum dish, or simply by solution in alcohol. Gypsum, chalk, magnesia, &c., will be left undissolved. Boracic acid will be dissolved by alcohol, but its green flame will indicate its presence in the alcoholic solution when ignited.

The absence of organic substances, such as salicine, sugar, stearic acid, &c., may be inferred from the formation of a colorless solution with pure concentrated cold sulphuric acid; it is as well to leave the sulphuric acid to act for some hours.

The presence of sal-ammoniac may be detected by the addition of caustic potash to the suspected salt, when, if present, it will be known by the diffusion of the ammoniacal odour.—Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal Journal, March, 1852.

{146}

REMARKS ON THE ENVELOPEMENT OF PILLS. BY DORVAULT.

The envelopement of pills is a minute question, an accessory in this form of administering medicines, but as it is a frequent cause of trouble to practitioners, and as their successful operation is often due to their peculiar mode of exhibition, we shall perhaps be pardoned for devoting a short space to the subject.

In order that pills may not adhere to one another, they are rolled in an inert powder, such as marsh-mallow, liquorice, and above all, lycopodium. Carbonate of magnesia is now particularly used for pills of turpentine and copaiba. To disguise the peculiar odour of the pill mass, German practitioners use iris powder, or cinnamon.

To render pills more pleasing to the eye, as well as to disguise their taste, instead of rolling them in the before named powders, they are frequently covered with gold or silver leaf. The mode of doing this is too well known to need repetition. We will only remark that those pills which contain iodine, bromine, sulphur, iodides, bromides, sulphides, salts of mercury, gold, platina, &c., cannot be silvered.

These methods conceal but imperfectly the unpleasant taste and smell of certain pillular compounds. M. Garot, to obviate this inconvenience, has proposed to cover pills with a layer of gelatine, by means of a process which he has made public, and into the details of which we think it needless to enter. The gelatinous layer conceals the bad taste and smell perfectly, but it is attended with one inconvenience; in time it shrinks, cracks, and the pill mass exudes. Besides, much skill is required in its manipulation. After gelatinization comes sugaring. This is frequently preferable to the former modes, and can be equally well applied to pills of a repulsive taste and smell, (copaiba, turpentine, musk, assafœtida, &c.,) or to those which are changed by air or light, (proto salts of iron,) or deliquescent, (iod-hydrargyrate of iodide of potassium,) or caustic, (croton oil.) It can extemporaneously be performed in the following manner:—Put the pills into a vase with a round bottom, {147} or into a box lined with silver, moisten them with a little syrup of sugar, clear mucilage, or white of eggs, agitate them so as to moisten them uniformly; add a mixture of equal parts of gum, sugar and starch; again rotate them, so as equally to enclose all the pills. If a first layer be not sufficient, add a second and third in the same manner. Dry them in the air or in a stove. In damp weather, these pills should be enclosed in corked bottles. Gelatine of carragheen or caseine dried and powdered may be substituted for the above powdered mixture. This method is more expeditious than gelatinisation, and it has besides the advantage of the material being always perfectly soluble. Collodion has been proposed for enveloping pills, but seems never to have been used.

The last method we shall call toluisation. It appears to possess many decided advantages over the others. M. Blancard, its originator, employs it particularly for pills of proto iodide of iron. It is to induce its more general use that we make these remarks. The following is the mode of proceeding, which can be modified to suit the daily wants of practice:

Dissolve one part of balsam of tolu, in three parts of ether, (the balsam which has been used in the preparation of syrup of tolu will answer perfectly;) pour some of this tincture into a capsule containing the pills, to favor the evaporation of the ether. When the pills begin to stick together, throw them on a mould of tin passed through mercury, or simply on a plate, taking care to separate those which stick together. Set them in the air to dry. The drying may be completed in a stove of moderate heat, especially if several layers have been found necessary. This mode of enveloping may take the place, or nearly so, of all the others. An important point in it, is, that it resists the effects both of damp and dryness on the pill mass. Its balsamic odour is generally agreeable; but should it not be so, the tolu might be replaced by some inert resin soluble in ether, as mastic tears for example. The layer of resinous matter is so thin, that we apprehend no obstacle in its influence on the medicine. {148}

We will, however, make one general remark, namely: that as each method possesses some peculiar advantages, we thought it right to give them all.—Bulletin Gen. Ther. Med. et Chir. January, 1852.

ON THE APPLICATION OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY TO PERFUMERY. BY DR. A. W. HOFFMAN. Professor to the Royal College of Chemistry, London.

Cahours’ excellent researches concerning the essential oil of gaultheria procumbens (a North American plant of the natural order of the Ericinæ of Jussieu,) which admits of so many applications in perfumery, have opened a new field in this branch of industry. The introduction of this oil among compound ethers must necessarily direct the attention of perfumers towards this important branch of compounds, the number of which is daily increasing by the labors of those who apply themselves to organic chemistry. The striking similarity of the smell of these ethers to that of fruit has not escaped the observation of chemists; however, it was reserved to practical men to discover by which choice and combinations it might be possible to imitate the scent of peculiar fruits to such a nicety, as to make it probable that the scent of the fruit is owing to a natural combination identical to that produced by art; so much so, as to enable the chemist to produce from fruits the said combinations, provided he could have at his disposal a sufficient quantity to operate upon. The manufacture of artificial aromatic oils for the purpose of perfumery is, of course, a recent branch of industry; nevertheless, it has already fallen into the hands of several distillers, who produce sufficient quantity to supply the trade; a fact, which has not escaped the observation of the Jury at the London Exhibition. In visiting the stalls of English and French perfumers at the Crystal Palace, we found a great variety of these chemical perfumes, {149} the applications of which were at the same time practically illustrated by confectionery flavored by them. However, as most of the samples of the oils sent to the Exhibition were but small, I was prevented, in many cases, from making an accurate analysis of them. The largest samples were those of a compound labelled “Pear oil,” which, by analysis, I discovered to be an alcoholic solution of pure acetate of amyloxide. Not having sufficient quantity to purify it for combustion, I dissolved it with potash, by which free fusel oil was separated, and determined the acetic acid in the form of a silver salt.

0,3080 gram. of silver salt = 0,1997 gram. of silver.

The per centage of silver in acetate of silver is, according to

The acetate of amyloxide which, according to the usual way of preparing it, represents one part sulphuric acid, one part fusel oil, and two parts of acetate of potash, had a striking smell of fruit, but it acquired the pleasant flavor of the jargonelle pear only after having been diluted with six times its volume of spirits of wine.

Upon further inquiry I learned that considerable quantities of this oil are manufactured by some distillers, from fifteen to twenty pounds weekly, and sold to confectioners, who employ it chiefly it flavoring pear-drops, which are nothing else but barley-sugar, flavored with this oil.

I found, besides the pear-oil, also an apple-oil, which, according to my analysis, is nothing but valerianate of amyloxide. Every one must recollect the insupportable smell of rotten apples which fills the laboratory whilst making valerianic acid. By operating upon this new distillate produced with diluted potash, valerianic acid is removed, and an ether remains behind which, diluted in five or six times its volume of spirits of wine, is possessed of the most pleasant flavor of apples.

The essential oil most abundant in the Exhibition was the pine-apple oil, which, as you well know, is nothing else but the butyrate of ethyloxide. Even in this combination, as in {150} the former, the pleasant flavor or scent is only attained by diluting the ether with alcohol. The butyric ether which is employed in Germany to flavor bad rum, is employed in England to flavor an acidulated drink called pine-apple ale. For this purpose they generally do not employ pure butyric acid, but a product obtained by saponification of butter, and subsequent distillation of the soap with concentrated sulphuric acid and alcohol; which product contains, besides the butyric ether, other ethers, but nevertheless can be used for flavoring spirits. The sample I analyzed was purer, and appeared to have been made with pure butyric ether.

Decomposed with potash and changed into silver salt, it gave

0,4404 gram. of silver salt = 0,2437 gram. of silver.

The per centage of silver in the butyrate of silver is according to

Both English and French exhibitors have also sent samples of cognac-oil and grape-oil, which are employed to flavor the common sorts of brandy. As these samples were very small, I was prevented from making an accurate analysis. However, I am certain that the grape-oil is a combination of amyl, diluted with much alcohol; since, when acted upon with concentrated sulphuric acid, and the oil freed from alcohol by washing it with water, it gave amylsulphuric acid, which was identified by the analysis of the salt of barytes.

1,2690 gram. of amylsulphate of barytes gave 0,5825 gram. of sulphate of barytes. This corresponds to 45,82 per cent. of sulphate of barytes.

Amylsulphate of barytes, crystallized with two equivalents of water, contains, according to the analysis of Cahours and Kekule, 45,95 per cent. of sulphate of barytes. It is curious to find here a body, which, on account of its noxious smell, is removed with great care from spirituous liquors, to be applied under a different form for the purpose of imparting to them a pleasant flavor. {151}

I must needs here also mention the artificial oil of bitter almonds. When Mitscherlich, in the year 1834, discovered the nitrobenzol, he would not have dreamed that this product would be manufactured for the purpose of perfumery, and, after twenty years, appear in fine labelled samples at the London Exhibition. It is true that, even at the time of the discovery of nitrobenzol, he pointed out the striking similarity of its smell to that of the oil of bitter almonds. However, at that time, the only known sources for obtaining this body were the compressed gases and the distillation of benzoic acid, consequently the enormity of its price banished any idea of employing benzol as a substitute for oil of bitter almonds. However, in the year 1845, I succeeded by means of the anilin-reaction in ascertaining the existence of benzol in common coal-tar-oil. In his essay, which contains many interesting details about the practical use of benzol, he speaks likewise of the possibility of soon obtaining sweet scented nitrobenzol in great quantity. The Exhibition has proved that this observation has not been left unnoticed by the perfumers. Among French perfumeries we have found, under the name of artificial oil of bitter almonds, and under the still more poetical name of “essence de mirbane,” several samples of essential oils, which are no more nor less than nitrobenzol. I was not able to obtain accurate details about the extent of this branch of manufacture, which seems to be of some importance. In London, this article is manufactured with success. The apparatus employed is that of Mansfield, which is very simple; it consists of a large glass worm, the upper extremity of which divides in two branches or tubes, which are provided with funnels. Through one of these funnels passes a stream of concentrated nitric acid; the other is destined as a receiver of benzol, which, for this purpose, requires not to be quite pure; at the angle from where the two tubes branch out, the two bodies meet together, and instantly the chemical combination takes place, which cools sufficiently by passing through the glass worm. The product is afterwards washed with water, and some diluted solution of carbonate of {152} soda; it is then ready for use. Notwithstanding the great physical similarity between nitrobenzol and oil of bitter almonds, there is yet a slight difference in smell which can be detected by an experienced nose. However, nitrobenzol is very useful in scenting soap, and might be employed with great advantage by confectioners and cooks, particularly on account of its safety, being entirely free from prussic acid.

There were, besides the above, several other artificial oils; they all, however, were more or less complicated, and in such small quantities, that it was impossible to ascertain their exact nature, and it was doubtful whether they had the same origin as the former.

The application of organic chemistry to perfumery is quite new; it is probable that the study of all the ethers or ethereal combinations already known, and of those which the ingenuity of the chemist is daily discovering, will enlarge the sphere of their practical applications. The caprylethers lately discovered by Bouris are remarkable for their aromatic smells (the acetate of capryloxide is possessed of the most intense and pleasant smell,) and they promise a large harvest to the manufacturers of perfumes.—Annalen der Chemie.—In An. of Pharmacy.

ON TESTS FOR THE IMPURITIES OF ACETIC ACID.

Pure acetic acid is colorless, possesses strong acid properties and taste, and no empy­reu­matic flavor. It should have, according to the new London Phar­ma­copœia, a specific gravity of 1.048, and one hundred grains should saturate eighty-seven grains of crystal­lized car­bonate of soda; consequently the phar­ma­copœial acid consists of thirty-one per cent. of the anhydrous acid, and sixty-nine per cent. of water. It should leave no residuum by evaporation. Sul­phu­ret­ted hydrogen, nitrate of barytes, ferro­cya­nu­ret of po­tash, and nitrate of silver, should produce no precipitate in it. When it contains empyreumatic {153} matter, which besides being evident to the smell, concentrated sulphuric acid causes its color to darken. Sugar, in a more or less changed condition, is frequently one of the impurities of the German diluted commercial acid, and may be recognized by the taste of the residuum left upon its evaporation.

When sulphuretted hydrogen produces in acetic acid a milky turbidity, it shows that sulphurous acid is present, the presence of which is due to the decomposition of coloring and other organic matters, contained as impurities in the acetates, from which the acetic was prepared, when treated with sulphuric acid. The turbidity is caused by the separation of sulphur from the sulphuretted hydrogen, and from the sulphurous acid by reason of the hydrogen of the former combining with the oxygen of the latter, and forming water (Wittstein.) If the sulphuretted hydrogen produces a black precipitate, either lead or copper may be present. The lead may be recognized by sulphuric acid giving a precipitate of sulphate of lead; and the copper, by the blue reaction which ensues, with an excess of ammonia. Sulphuric acid can be readily known when present by nitrate of barytes producing a white precipitate, insoluble in mineral acids. Nitrate of silver detects muriatic acid by throwing down a white precipitate, which changes, under the influence of light, to a violet color, and is insoluble in nitric acid, but soluble in ammonia. Ferrocyanuret of potassium will indicate the presence of salt of iron when by its addition, a blue precipitate results.

The above tests are not applicable to the same extent to detect the impurities of the brown vinegar of commerce, because manufacturers are allowed by law to add to it a small per centage of sulphuric acid, and there are always sulphates and chlorides and other salts present in it, derived from the water used in its manufacture; therefore, in testing for its impurities, an allowance must be made for those which arise from the necessary process of the manufacture, and those considered only as adulterations which are over and above such fair allowance. To detect such impurities as cayenne pepper, {154} &c., it is merely necessary to neutralize the vinegar with carbonate of soda, when their presence will be palpably evident to the taste.

Acetic acid may be purified by distillation from those substances which are not volatile. By adding acetate of lead previously to its distillation, sulphuric and muriatic acids can be separated from it; and sulphurous acid can be removed by peroxide of manganese, which converts it into sulphuric acid. It can be freed from empyreumatic impurities by agitation with charcoal, subsequent filtration and distillation.

The strength of acetic acid and vinegar cannot be determined by the specific gravity. The power of saturating an alkaline carbonate is the best criterion of the quantity of anhydrous acid present in any given sample. This method will only give correct results when the acid is pure, or when the quantities of free mineral acids have been estimated previously by precipitation, so as to make the necessary deductions for their saturating power when the acid is neutralized with an alkaline carbonate. It would be well if phar­ma­ceu­tists were more frequently to try the strength of their acetic acid, which is constantly sold with very plausible labels, about one part of the acid to seven parts of water, making the distilled vinegar of the Pharmacopœia, which statement we have oftentimes proved to be a very pretty fiction.—An. of Pharmacy, March, 1852.

A TEST FOR ALCOHOL IN ESSENTIAL OILS.

J. J. Bernoulli recommends for this purpose acetate of potash. When to an etherial oil, contaminated with alcohol, dry acetate of potash is added, this salt dissolves in the alcohol, and forms a solution from which the volatile oil separates. If the oil be free from alcohol, this salt remains dry therein.

Wittstein, who speaks highly of this test, has suggested the following method of applying it as the best:—In a dry test {155} tube, about half an inch in diameter, and five or six inches long, put not more than eight grains of powdered dry acetate of potash; then fill the tube two-thirds full with the essential oil to be examined. The contents of the tube must be well stirred with a glass rod, taking care not to allow the salt to rise above the oil; afterwards set aside for a short time. If the salt be found at the bottom of the tube dry, it is evident that the oil contains no spirit. Oftentimes, instead of the dry salt, beneath the oil is found a clear syrupy fluid, which is a solution of the salt in the spirit, with which the oil was mixed. When the oil contains only a little spirit, a small portion of the solid salt will be found under the syrupy solution. Many essential oils frequently contain a trace of water, which does not materially interfere with this test, because, although the acetate of potash becomes moist thereby, it still retains its pulverent form.

A still more certain result may be obtained by distillation in a water bath. All the essential oils which have a higher boiling point than spirit, remain in the retort, whilst the spirit passes into the receiver with only a trace of the oil, where the alcohol may be recognized by the smell and taste. Should, however, a doubt exist, add to the distillate a little acetate of potash and strong sulphuric acid, and heat the mixture in a test tube to the boiling point, when the char­ac­ter­is­tic odor of acetic ether will be manifest, if any alcohol be present.

CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF RESIN OF JALAP. BY B. SANDROCK.

It is a well known fact that when resin of jalap is treated with ether, we obtain two kinds of resin, one soluble, and the other insoluble in ether. Dr. Kayser chose first for his analysis that part of the resin which is insoluble in ether. This resin, purified by means of charcoal, was friable, almost colorless, without smell or taste, insoluble in ether and water, but easily {156} dissolved by spirit of wine; the alcoholic solution reddens litmus slightly. The resin, again precipitated by water, was perfectly soluble in solution of caustic ammonia and acetic acid. This resin was dissolved with difficultly in cold solutions of caustic potash and soda, but was perfectly soluble when hot, and could again be readily precipitated from the alkaline solutions by acids. The solution of this resin, in ammonia was of a bright brown color, and became neutral by volatizing the superfluous ammonia. It is consequently a resinous acid, which is distinguished from other resinous acids, by the facts that it does not precipitate the bases from metalic salts, such as nitrate of silver, sulphate of copper; it afforded only a precipitate when acted upon by basic-acetate of lead. A question arose, whether the resin of jalap, dissolved in alkaline fluids, undergoes any changes in its constitution. To answer this question, Kayser undertook several analyses, the results of which were as follows: The uncombined resin of jalap gave C 42, H 35, O 20.—The resin, precipitated by oxide of lead, gave C 42, H 36, O 21. It is evident that resin of jalap, combined with the bases of salts, acquires the elements of one equivalent of water. Dr. Kayser, has named the unchanged resin of jalap, rhodeoretin, and that modified by bases of salts, hydro-rhodeoretin.

By dissolving rhodeoretin in absolute alcohol and submitting the solution to the action of chlorine, and subsequently adding water to it, Kayser obtained an oily fluid, dark yellow, possessing a pleasant smell, easy to be volatilized by heat, soluble in water, which he called rhodeoretin oil.

The part of the resin soluble in ether, possesses eminently the disagreeable smell of jalap, a prickly taste; its solution reddens litmus, and in drying leaves a greasy spot on paper; it is soluble in alkaline fluids. If the alcoholic solution is allowed to stand, mixed with water, for a lengthened period, prismatic crystalline needles are precipitated. According to these properties, Kayser includes the soluble jalap resin among the fatty acids. Sandrock in general agrees with Kayser; but, according to his analysis, the jalap can be resolved in three {157} different resins, one soluble in ether, the second obtained by precipitating the alcoholic solution by oxides of lead; the third remains unprecipitated in this solution.

That part of the resin which is insoluble in ether, but is precipitated from the alcoholic solution by oxide of lead, Sandrock calls alpha resin; that which is not precipitated, beta resin; that part which is soluble in ether he calls gamma resin.

The alpha resin agrees in its properties with Buchner’s and Herberger’s jalapine. Sandrock calls ipomic acid, the produce of this resin when treated by boiling carbonated alkaline solution; and the one obtained in the same way from beta resin, jalapic acid. The gamma resin forms in ether a yellow solution, and a purple one in concentrated sulphuric acid.—Archiven der Pharmacie.

ON THE PREPARATION OF CHLOROFORM FROM THE ESSENCES OF LEMON, COPAIBA, PEPPERMINT AND BERGAMOTTE. BY M. CHAUTARD, Professor of Chemistry at the Lyceum of Vendome.

M. Chautard, after having completed his experiments for the production of chloroform by means of oil of turpentine instead of alcohol, led by analogy, proceeded to try by a similar method to prepare it by means of the essences of lemon, bergamotte, copaiba and peppermint, and succeeded. However, the quantity of essences upon which he acted was too small to carry on a minute analysis. In the meanwhile, his researches led him to discover formic acid in the calcareous residuum of the operation. It was already known, M. Chautard observes, that oil of turpentine, when old and exposed a long time to the action of the air, was transformed into formic acid, which observations is due to M. Wappen. On the other hand, M. Schneider, by collecting the volatile products of the oxidation {158} of turpentine, by means of nitric acid, detected therein the presence of acetic, metacetic, and butyric acids. Finally, a few years ago, Mr. William Bastick[11] showed that hypo-chlorite of lime, by reacting upon neutral unazotised bodies, such as sugar, starch, &c., gave rise to the formation of a certain quantity of formate of lime; hence, turning to advantage the details given by this chemist, M. Chautard continues—I thus have carried on my operation:—

[11] “Journal de Pharmacie,” 3^e serie, 1. 14.

After having ascertained, by means of the solution of indigo, that the residuum contained in the alembic did not contain any hypochlorite of lime, the presence of which would have prevented the extraction of formic acid, I threw the whole upon a cloth, and added sulphuric acid to the filtered liquor to precipitate the lime retained in a state of chloride or formate.—This liquor, after having been filtered anew, was distilled, and the product was a mixture of formic and hydrochloric acids, which I saturated by means of carbonate of soda. By subsequent evaporation to dryness, I succeeded, by adding afterwards a little water, in separating the formate of soda from the chloride. By means of the formate of soda, I proved the principal properties of formic acid, and besides, produced from it the formate of silver, which is decomposed by a boiling heat, leaving a precipitate of metalic silver.

In finishing this communication, I must observe that fixed oils, treated in the same way by hypochlorite of lime, do not produce chloroform; however, the reaction which occurs is so strong, and indicative of interesting results, that it induces me to continue my experiments.—Journal de Pharmacie.

ON DRY EXTRACTS. BY DR. MOHR.

Every one is aware of the utility of possessing dry extracts, particularly of narcotic plants, so as to be able to administer them as powders. This able pharmaceutist gives the following {159} formula for their preparation; and as it seems to answer all purposes, and is adopted in Berlin, and other continental towns, it deserves to be made public.

Take of any extract, and of powder of licorice equal parts, mix them well in a mortar; when well mixed, put the paste in an earthenware evaporating dish, and then put this vessel over an iron pan, which has been filled with chloride of calcium, previously dried in the vessel by a strong fire without melting; the iron vessel must have a cover to enclose both vessels, so that the chloride of calcium can absorb the vapor from the extract without communication with the air, and must be put on as soon as the extract has been placed on the chloride of calcium. Let it stand for some days. Remove the extract, and add an equal weight of licorice powder to it in a mortar, mix well, and preserve it in bottles.

EDITORIAL.

PHARMACEUTICAL CONVENTION.

As heretofore, so now, the best and the only prospect of progress in the profession lies in itself. It best knows its necessities and requirments, and it can best devise the remedies that will meet them. It is in the union of its members, in mutual association and intercourse, in the formation of a public opinion of its own, which, {160} operating first upon the members of the profession, will necessarily have its weight upon the public opinion of the community, that lie our best hopes. Pharmacy is at once a liberal art, and a trade. In individuals, particularly in a community like ours, the spirit of trade is apt to be in the ascendant. Science is estimated at its money value, for what it brings in, rather than for what it is. But when the best men of a profession meet together, science resumes its proper position; they are encouraged in their noblest aims, and that encouragement is spread widely among their fellows. Individuals struggling, isolated throughout the country, feel that there is a tribunal to which they can appeal, and by which they will be judged, and its influence will be felt too by another class, as a restraint, if not an encouragement. Success, obtained by worthy means, loses much of its value, when it costs the esteem of those with whom we are most intimately connected.

It is from such considerations that we look upon the approaching convention at Philadelphia, as a step in a very important movement. A great deal depends upon its success, and every one who has the interest of phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal science at heart, should do all he can to promote it.

To prove all that is hoped for by its friends, the convention should be a national one, not only in name, but in reality. Every institution and society entitled under the requisitions of the call, should appoint delegates, and above all, they should appoint delegates who will attend. But there are many apothecaries scattered through the country, in places not entitled to appoint delegates, who may be enabled to be present at the meeting of the convention, and we are glad to see that our Philadelphia brethren are prepared to welcome them in a liberal and cordial spirit. They will both receive and communicate benefit. Their presence will add weight and authority to the convention; while, independent of its official proceedings, they cannot but derive advantages from acquaintance and intercourse with the numerous able members of the profession who will, as delegates, attend the meeting.

Great care should be exercised in the selection of delegates; they should not only, above all, be men who will attend, but men who have at heart the position and advancement of phar­ma­ceu­tists.

We hope that their election will take place as early as possible, that they may have time fully to consider the objects of the convention, and the wants and wishes of the institutions they represent. It would be well, too, if early notice of their election should be communicated to Mr. Proctor, or some other of the members residing at Philadelphia, and their names should be published. The convention will have much to discuss and determine upon, while its duration will necessarily be limited. Were the names of its members early announced, an interchange of opinion might take place between, not to forstall the active of the convention, but to promote and expedite it. For this purpose, if deemed desirable our own columns are freely tendered.

{161}

NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. JUNE, 1852.

ON THE PREPARATION OF PURE BARIUM COMPOUNDS. BY HENRY WURTZ.

The preparation of the compounds of barium in a state of absolute purity is a subject which has not generally received much attention from Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal chemists, in consequence of the hitherto limited application of these compounds, except in chemical analysis. The time, however, is undoubtedly close at hand, when new developments in the arts, will create a demand for pure barium compounds, as well as for very many other products now considered as pertaining exclusively to the laboratory. Indeed, efforts have already been made to introduce the chlorate of barytes to the notice of pyrotechnists as a means of producing a green fire unequalled in beauty, and the pure carbonate has been for some time in use in England, in the manufacture of superior varieties of plate and flint glass. The precipitated or purified native sulphate is also preferred as a water color pigment to white lead, being far more durable than the latter. I may here be permitted to mention a practical application of the carbonate which has occurred to myself. I have found that sulphate of lime is totally precipitated from its solution by mixing therewith an equivalent quantity of the precipitated or finely pulverized natural carbonate of barytes, {162} of course with the formation of sulphate of barytes and carbonate of lime. It is by no means improbable that this property may be made available in removing sulphate of lime from spring or sea water which is to be used in steam boilers, thus preventing the formation of the troublesome incrustation which so often occurs, especially when it is considered that the sulphate of barytes which would be formed, might easily be reconverted into carbonate and used over again. Again, sulphate of lime might be removed in the same way from the brine in salt works, thus contributing to the purity of the salt produced.

Recent improvements in chemical analysis have greatly increased the usefulness of barium compounds in the laboratory, especially of the carbonate, to which the late investigations of Professor H. Rose, and of Ebelmen have given a place in the very first rank among the reagents valuable to the chemist. Any suggestion, therefore, concerning the preparation of barium compounds in a pure state, cannot be considered as useless.

The sulphate of baryta is the only compound which occurs in sufficient abundance to be an economical source of the other barium compounds, and the enormous though illegitimate use of this substance in the adulteration of white lead, is so far fortunate as to render it an easy matter to obtain it in any required quantity, already in a state of fine powder which is so desirable in chemical operations.

The sulphate of baryta is always reduced to the state of sulphide of barium, by exposing it to a red heat in intimate admixture with some carbonaceous substance, such as powdered charcoal, rosin, oil or flour. It is exceedingly difficult, however, if not impossible, to effect in this manner a complete decomposition of the sulphate. Indeed, it is probable that in most cases the quantity of sulphide obtained, is not more than half that which is equivalent to the sulphate employed. A modification which promises to be far more economical was proposed by Dr. Wolcott Gibbs. His proposal was to submit the sulphate to the action of a current of common coal gas at a red heat. It is evident that in this way a perfect decomposition {163} may readily be accomplished, especially if the powdered sulphate is stirred during the operation, so as to expose fresh surfaces to the action of the gas.

The mass obtained after the reduction of the sulphate is submitted to the action of boiling water, and a solution obtained, which, according to Professor H. Rose,[12] contains principally hydrate of baryta and sulphohydrate of sulphide of barium BaS. HS. formed by the reaction of equal equivalents of water and proto-sulphide of barium. It almost invariably contains also a quantity of lime, probably in the form of sulpho-hydrate of sulphide of calcium, or of hydrate of lime, proceeding from the almost constant concurrence of sulphate of lime with native sulphate of baryta. From the presence of this lime originates the principal difficulty in preparing pure barium compounds from this substance. Thus when the carbonate is prepared from the solution by precipitation, with carbonate of soda, or a current of carbonic acid gas, it is found contaminated with carbonate of lime, which is fatal to its use as a reagent in analysis. Also in examining many specimens of commercial chloride of barium, which is prepared from this solution by the addition of chloro-hydric acid, boiling to separate sulpho-hydric acid gas which is evolved, filtration to separate the sulphur which is precipitated and cry­stal­li­za­tion, I have always found it to contain a small quantity of chloride of calcium, which I have found it impossible to separate entirely by repeated recry­stal­li­za­tions. It has been proposed[13] to separate the chloride of calcium from chloride of barium by the use of very strong alcohol, in which the latter when anhydrous, is insoluble. This method is rather expensive and troublesome as it involves the evaporation to dryness of the chloride of barium solution, the reduction of the previously ignited residue to a very fine powder and digestion in strong alcohol. Attempts were made after some previous experimentation, in which it was found that an {164} aqueous solution of oxalate of baryta precipitated chloride of calcium, but not chloride of barium, to separate the lime from a chloride of barium solution by addition of oxalate of baryta, or simply of a little oxalic acid, but it was soon found that oxalate of lime was somewhat soluble in a solution of chloride of barium, so that a solution of oxalate of baryta, gave no precipitate in a mixture of solutions of chloride of barium and chloride of calcium. It was found also that the precipitate formed by a little oxalic acid in a lime solution, could be re-dissolved by addition of chloride of barium. It may also be mentioned, though irrelevant to the subject, that it was found that oxalate of lime was soluble in solutions of chloride of calcium, of ammonia, and of chloro-hydrate of ammonia.

[12] Poggendorff’s Annalen, 55,416.

[13] Gmelin’s Handbuch, 2,158.

The well known property of carbonate of baryta which the recent investigations of Professor H. Rose have rendered so important in the analysis of phosphates, of completely precipitating lime from its solution by a sufficiently long contact therewith, furnishes us, however, with a perfectly easy and cheap method of purifying the chloride of barium solution. In fact a solution of chloride of barium to which chloride of calcium has been added, having been treated with a little carbonate of baryta, and allowed to stand in contact with it for two days, with occasional agitation, was found on filtration to be free from lime. The only objection to this method, is the considerable length of time required; but I must here describe an elegant modification which was communicated to me by Dr. Wolcott Gibbs, and tested by him in his laboratory; that is to add first to the solution of chloride of barium containing lime, a little solution of hydrate of baryta and then to pass through it a current of carbonic acid gas. The precipitate immediately formed contains of course all the lime.

The only impurity which is prevalent in commercial chloride of barium besides lime, is strangely enough, a trace of lead which is almost always present and sometimes in such quantity that the solution is immediately blackened by sulphuric {165} acid.[14] This is, however, very easily removed, either before or after the separation of the lime by the process of Dr. Gibbs, by passing a little sulpho-hydric acid gas into the solution, gently heating for a short time and filtering.

Commercial chloride of barium thus purified is probably the most convenient source of the other compounds of barium when required pure. Thus pure carbonate of baryta may be prepared from it by precipitation with carbonate of ammonia, or with carbonate of soda, which is free from silica, sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid.[15]

[14] It may be that leaden pans are used for the evaporation or cry­stal­li­za­tion of the commercial chloride of barium, which would sufficiently account for the presence of lead in the product.

[15] New York Journal of Pharmacy, 136.

RESULTS OF THE EXAMINATION OF SEVERAL PARCELS OF ALEPPO SCAMMONY. BY B. W. BULL.

Since the publication of an article upon Virgin Scammony in a previous number of this Journal, I have had an opportunity of examining four different varieties of scammony received from Constantinople, under the names, Aleppo Scammony, first; Aleppo Scammony, second; Tschangari Scammony and Skilip Scammony.

No. 1. Aleppo Scammony, first. This occurs in large amorphous pieces weighing one or more pounds; is not covered with any calcareous powder. The fractured surface presents a dark greenish resinous appearance. The specific gravity will be found below. The caseous odor is not so decided in this {166} specimen as in some of the other varieties, confirming, as will be seen from its composition, as adduced farther on, the remark made in the article above alluded to, in regard to the insecurity of relying upon the odor as a means of judging of the quality of scammony.

No. 2. Aleppo Scammony, second. Of this a sample of about one pound was received. This is in amorphous pieces; it differs from the previous specimen in its fracture which is non-resinous and horny, it is of a much lighter color, and has a grayish tinge. The scammony odor is more decided. This variety receives the prefix Aleppo improperly, as it does not come from that locality, and is said to be made by pressing the root, though the quantity of insoluble organic matter which it contains, seems to indicate some other impurity, intentionally added.

No. 3. Tschangari Scammony, derives its name from the place of production. It appears to be a variety not found in market here. It resembles in fracture the last mentioned, and is like that, in amorphous pieces. Its odor is more decided than that of any of the others.

No. 4. Skilip Scammony. This specimen appears to have undergone some deterioration, and evinces a disposition to mould. Some of the pieces are marked exteriorly, as if placed in a bag when soft, and dried in this way. It is destitute of the caseous odor, and has a mouldy smell. Fracture, non-resinous, and grayish, like the last mentioned varieties.

These three latter varieties are always to be obtained in Constantinople, we are informed, while the first quality Aleppo, is only produced in small quantity, and is soon out of market.

The difference in composition of the different varieties will be found annexed, the numbers referring to those given above. All of them indicate the presence of starch by the test with iodine. {167}

New York, May, 1852.

WHAT IS MONESIA? BY E. DUPUY, PHARMACEUTIST, NEW YORK CITY.

Dorvault in the Officine gives it “as the product of a foreign bark never found in commerce, but described by Mr. Bernard Derosne, (who, according to the same authority is the only possessor of it,) as being found in voluminous thick pieces, filled with extractive. The color is dark brown, excepting the epidermis which is grayish. It contains tannin and a red coloring matter, analoguous to cinchonic red, also an acrid one and salts.” Virey attributed it to a Chrysophi lum.; Martens says it is the Mohica of the Brazilians; according to Mr. Constant Berrier, it bears in that country sundry other names: furanhem, guaranhem, buranché, etc. Duchesne in his Répertoire des Plantes utiles et Vénéncuses du Globe, and Descourtils in his Flore médicale des Antilles mentions the Cainito Chrysophillum the bark of which is tonic, astringent and febrifuge. In {168} examining some extract of Monesia I was struck with the striking resemblance in its properties with the extract of logwood, (Hematoxylon Campechianum) both possessing the same astringent sweetish taste, precipitating salts of iron, etc. Descourtils, who practiced medicine for a long time in the West India islands, says “it is recommendable in dysentery and diarrhea after the inflammatory period.” and to that effect prescribes the decoction of one ounce of the wood or a drachm of the extract added to an infusion of orange tree leaves, or Cascarilla bark, per diem. Besides, Dr. Wood in the U. S. Dispensatory, mentions its frequent use in some parts of the United States, “in that relaxed condition of the bowels, which is apt to succeed to cholera infantum,” and also in the same complaints as mentioned by Descourtils. Though both the decoction of the wood and the solution of the extract are officinal in our national Pharmacopeia, so far as my means of observation go, they are seldom, if ever, prescribed in New York, and yet I have repeatedly prepared solutions of the Monesia, prescribed by our city practitioners. The extract of log-wood being so similar in its medicinal action, I am strongly inclined to think that it is the same substance, though perhaps obtained from other sources; and as the price of it is so much higher than that of the other, it would be desirable to obtain the results of comparative experiments made to test their relative value, and whether the extract of Hematoxylon Campechianum should not be prescribed as answering for all therapeutical purposes, the mysterious Monesia of Derosne?

{169}

THE PHARMACOLOGY OF MATICO: WITH FORMULA FOR ITS PREPARATION. BY DORVAULT.

As matico is daily attracting more and more the attention of practitioners, its pharmacology demands consideration. It is well known that this new Peruvian plant has been lauded as an efficacious remedy in leucorrhea and gonorrhea, as a vulnerary, and above all as an excellent hemostatic, both external and internal.

We shall, in the present paper, content ourselves with making known the principal phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal forms which this substance is capable of assuming, reserving all other considerations for a later period. A long and careful experience will be needed to establish the relative value of each of the subjoined forms.

POWDER OF MATICO.

Matico can be easily reduced to an impalpable powder. This powder is of a yellowish green, and its odor, when fresh is more fragrant than that of the plant itself. To preserve it well, it should be kept in well stopped bottles.

Matico powder can be advantageously used externally in sprinkling over bleeding parts, in plugging the nasal fossœ and in epithems for contusions. Internally it may be used moistened with a little sweetened water under the form of electuary or in pills.

INFUSION OF MATICO.

Let it infuse until cold and strain it. This infusion is amber-colored, and possesses the aromatic odor of the plant. It is not unpleasant to take, but may be rendered more agreeable by the addition of sugar, or an appropriate syrup.

For external use, lotions, embrocations, lavements and injections, 30, 40 or even 50 grammes of matico may be used to the {170} same quantity of water, and it may be submitted to a slight decoction. If, in this mode of operation, it parts with some volatile oil, it gains a small portion of resin.

DISTILLED WATER, OR HYDROLATE OF MATICO.

Draw off by distillation, 500 parts of hydrolate.

The product is colorless throughout the distillation, except the first few drops, which are milky.

Hydrolate of matico has an odor of turpentine stronger than the plant itself. It is covered with globules, or a light layer of a volatile oil, almost colorless, and of the consistence of castor oil.

If the volatile oil be, as authors have advanced, one of the active principles of matico, then the hydrolate must be to a certain extent efficacious. The hemostatic waters of Binelli, Broechieri, Tisseraud, &c., over their property to the volatile oil of turpentine.

The hydrolate may be employed both externally and internally.

EXTRACT OF MATICO.

The one which appears to us the preferable is the hydro-alcoholic. Introduce some rather coarse matico powder into the apparatus for lixiviation, pour on it the alcohol at 56° so as to imbibe all the powder, leave it 24 hours, open the lower cock, pour the same alcohol over the same matico, until the latter is exhausted, and then evaporate the liquid in the vapour bath, till it is brought to the consistence of an extract. The product is black, with a marked odor of matico, and a bitter taste. It is only partially soluble, either in alcohol or water.

The extract of matico may be used internally in the form of pills, lozenges, syrup and electuary, and externally, dissolved or softened in the form of plasters, embrocations, plugs, lavements and injections.

Matico furnishes about ¹⁄₄ of its weight of the hydro-alcoholic extract.

{171}

SYRUP OF MATICO.

Distil till you obtain 100 parts. Draw off the residue from the retort, press the matico, add to the product 700 parts of sugar; mix it so as to have by the addition of the hydrolate a syrup of ordinary consistence; filter it by Demarest’s method.

Thus prepared, matico syrup is brownish, limpid and of an aromatic taste, which is not disagreeable; it contains all the principles, active, volatile or fixed, of the substance.

It may be administered pure, or diluted with water. It is one of the easiest and most efficacious modes of administering matico in cases of internal hemorrhage or of flour albus.

It represents 1-10 of its weight of matico. The spoonful being 30 grammes, would represent 2 grammes; the tea-spoonful being 5 grammes, would represent ¹⁄₂ gramme.

MATICO PILLS.

Make secundum artem 100 pills rolled in lycopodium. They are of a dark green. The weight of each pill from 40 to 50 centigrammes, each containing 20 centigrammes of matico, give from 2 to 25 daily.

EXTRACT OF MATICO PILLS.

Divide secundum artem into 100 pills, which will each contain 10 centigrammes. They are blackish. Being smaller they possess the advantage of being more easily swallowed.

OINTMENT OF EXTRACT OF MATICO.

Make an ointment, secundum artem.

{172}

TINCTURE OF MATICO.

Macerate for 10 days, express and filter. The tincture may also be obtained by lixiviation from the powder.

It is used both internally and externally as a vulnerary; it must in the first instance be diluted with water.

Matico not being poisonous, practitioners can trace its application through the widest range.

We will again repeat that we only give these formulæ that they may be experimented on; we shall hereafter give further comments on the choice to be made amongst them.—Bulletin Thèr: 30th January, 1852.

CHEMICAL RESEARCH ON CROTON OIL. BY M. DUBLANC. Director of the Laboratory of the Central Pharmacy of the Parisian Hospitals.

Some interesting researches have been instituted to ascertain,

• a. Whether the croton oil contains within itself an acid volatile at a low temperature?
• b. Is this acid the principle of its action, and can it be preserved if it be separated from the oil, and diminished if it be allowed to evaporate?

In order to answer both questions, the following operations have been instituted by this chemist.

The seeds of croton, deprived of their husks, ground at the mill, and subject to pressure, yield a certain quantity of oil.—If the residuum be mixed with double its quantity of alcohol and pressed again, it yields a liquid which is a mixture of oil {173} and alcohol. This liquid, when distilled, will yield more oil. Both oils are filtered, after having been allowed to settle.

The produce of this first operation is the natural croton oil, such as it exists in the seeds, which is of a brown amber color, viscid, having a peculiar smell, and possessed of great acidity, by which if applied to the skin, it produces an irritation varying in intensity according to its quantity, and the duration of time during which it has been applied. One drop, for instance, causes a blister in twelve hours.

If a piece of litmus paper be dipped in this oil, it turns red, and re acts acid; and the red color, though not deep, resists the action of the air and of a hot furnace.

The oil obtained by distillation from a solution in alcohol is rather more dark, viscid, and acid, than that obtained by simple expression.

The blue paper dipped in the oil obtained by distillation, reddens, and retains the color under the same circumstances as the former.

The second operation, however, offers already a fact which is of great value in deciding the question about the acidity of the croton oil. If you dip the litmus paper in the fluid which is gained by distillation, no traces of a change of color is visible; when, on the other hand, if you dip it in the oil which remains in the distilling apparatus, it changes the color as quickly as if dipped in the oil previous to distillation. The same is the case if the residuum is again acted upon with water or alcohol, the distilled fluid has no traces of acidity.

However, since the contrary opinion is entertained by good authorities, we must add other facts in corroboration of our own.

Croton oil was extracted by the action of ether upon the seeds. The ethereal solution containing croton oil in suspension was acid: it was placed in a glass vessel with two openings. One of them admitted a straight tube, and reached to the bottom of the vessel, admitting the introduction of external air: the other communicated with Woulfe’s apparatus, composed, {174}

1. Of the globular tube after Liebig, containing blue solution of litmus.

2. Another globular tube filled with alcohol.

3. An angular tube in connection with a large vessel full of water, giving an inferior running to the liquid, and causing the air to pass across the thick layer of ethereal oil, to lead the volatile principles in contact with the liquor destined to retain them. The apparatus being arranged, it was put in action by causing the water to run which was contained in the large vessel. The vacuum having begun, air was introduced to the bottom of the ethereal liquid, keeping up this action till the ether was totally evaporated. Consequently, the air has agitated the liquid long enough to remove in a state of vapour all the ether which was contained in the mixture. Nevertheless, the tincture of Turnesol, which opposed the passage of the vapours of ether and water, did not change into red, which would have happened if the volatile principles should have contained any acid. Neither did the alcohol which was acted upon by the same current exhibit any sign of acid. The air saturated with ether arrived in the vessel to replace the water had no acid property; its action upon the eye-lids and nostrils was pungent and irritating, but not that of an acid. Another experiment was made with the same apparatus, having always in view to cause a great quantity of air to pass through croton oil. But this time, instead of causing the current to pass through a mass of ethereal solution, it was caused to pass through pure croton oil. The large vessel was this time not quite filled with water, allowing space to introduce on its upper part two sponges, one filled with oil, the other with ether. Things being thus arranged, the liquid was set running, and the air rushed through the oil, coming in at the bottom of the liquid and spreading through the surface, causing a lengthened ebullition. The mass of air employed in this operation was not below two centimetres. The tincture of litmus contained in the globular tubes was not altered; the oil contained in the sponge was neither acid, pungent, or corrosive. The ether acted upon by too much air had disappeared, the {175} sponge was dry. These two proofs appear to be conclusive, and to show that the croton oil does not contain an active volatile acid, otherwise it would have been made manifest by being carried away by the ether in the first case, or by its proper volatility in the second.

Is it, however, possible to separate the active volatile principle from the mere neutral oil? It has been said by several authors that the croton oil was composed of two different oils, but this was a mere statement which required to be proved by facts. To solve this problem, the oil employed in the experiments was obtained by means of ether. The seeds of croton yield by expression 35 per cent.; treated by ether, they yield from 52 to 55 per cent. If treated by ether, the ether obtained by distillation is free from acid, all the acid remaining in the oil. When a certain fixed quantity of this oil is put in contact with ten times its weight of strong alcohol, the alcohol dissolves 6 per cent. of its own weight, and the oil 50 per cent.

The portion of the insoluble oil has lost its color, its smell, a part of its pungency, and all its acidity.

The portion of oil which has been dissolved in alcohol, when separated from this menstruum by evaporation, is more viscid, more colored, more pungent, and acid. The oil which is not dissolved, can be acted upon again by alcohol; by this second operation, it yields some parts to the alcohol, and the remainder loses all its specific qualities. The action of alcohol upon oil in successive operation, can be followed up to its last limits.

Twenty volumes of oil mixed with 100 volumes of alcohol, will be followed by the reduction of five volumes of oil. In the next operation, when the alcohol is renewed, the volume of the columns of oil lowers only three volumes instead of five. By a fourth operation, the oil loses not a single volume. When reduced to this state, the croton oil is slightly amber-colored, without smell, taste, or acidity; it can be taken in the mouth without causing any sensation. It is soluble in all proportions in ether. Its specific gravity is, 92 compared with that of water. {176}

Thus we find by experiments an evident proof of the co-existence of a sweet oil with the pungent croton oil.

All the specific properties of the croton oil are carried over in that dissolved by alcohol.

Is it possible by further processes to separate these active principles from the oily matter that contains them?

To solve this question we resorted to the following experiment:—

We took two kilogrammes of croton oil, and for several days we left it in contact with half a kilogramme of alcohol. A distinct separation took place. The upper part, composed of oil and alcohol, did not represent the exact quantity employed; which is explained by the power which the oil has to dissolve 10 per cent. of alcohol. The upper part being decanted, it was necessary to remove the alcohol, to avoid the inconvenience which might have arisen by employing heat for this purpose. Water was added to this liquid, which having become turbid, ether was added. Thus the oil came with the ether to the surface. The ether was removed by free evaporation. During this lengthened process, the effluvia was so pungent as to affect the eyes and nostrils of the operator, and cause blisters to rise on his face. The oil thus obtained is dark-brown, opaque, thick, possessed of a strong smell and acidity. Applied to the skin, it causes almost instantaneous pain, followed by a blister. It is soluble in all proportions in alcohol and ether. Mixed with nine parts of its volume of olive oil, it forms a liquid possessing specific qualities stronger than those of common croton oil.

These facts prove the mobility of the active principles of croton oil, and the possibility of succeeding in obtaining them free from all fatty matter by chemical ingenuity, a task which will be the object of further experiments.

The results from the above experiments are the following:—

1. That the croton oil does not contain a volatile acid.

2. That the sensible acid in croton oil is fixed or retained in the oil, and cannot be separated from it by a heat at 212° Fahr., or even by distillation. {177}

3. That the acrid volatile principle, which exists in this oil, possesses not the qualities of an acid, and has hitherto withstood the chemical operations which were instituted to extract it.

4. That the active principles of croton oil are capable of being separated from one part of the oil, and concentrated in the other.

5. That croton oil is not homogeneous in its composition, but is formed of two parts, one inert, of which alcohol is unable to dissolve more than one-tenth, and a more soluble part, which carries with it all the active principles.

6. That the greatest degree of concentration of the active principles, is by acting upon a large quantity of oil with a small quantity of alcohol.

7. That either may be usefully employed in manufacturing croton oil.—Repertoire de Pharmacie.—From the Annals Pharmacy, 1852.

ON ALOINE, THE CRYSTALLINE CATHARTIC PRINCIPLE OF BARBADOES ALOES. BY JOHN STENHOUSE, L.L.D., F.R.S.L., & E.

About two months ago I received from my friend, Mr. Thomas Smith, apothecary, Edinburgh, a quantity of a brownish yellow crystalline substance which he had obtained from Barbadoes aloes. Mr. Smith’s process consisted in pounding the previously dried aloes with a quantity of sand, so as to prevent its agglutinating, macerating the mass repeatedly with cold water, and then concentrating the liquors in vacuo to the consistence of a syrup. On remaining at rest in a cool place for two or three days, the concentrated extract became filled with a mass of small granular crystals of a brownish yellow {178} color. This is the crude substance to which Mr. Smith has given the name of Aloine, and which appears to constitute the cathartic principle of aloes. The brownish yellow crystals obtained in this way are contaminated with a greenish brown substance, which changes to brownish black on exposure to the air, and still more rapidly when it is boiled. In order to purify the crystals of aloine, therefore, they must first be dried by pressure between folds of blotting-paper, and then repeatedly crystallized out of hot water till they have only a pale sulphur yellow color. The aqueous solutions of aloine must on no account be boiled, but simply heated to about 150° F., as at 212° F. aloine is rapidly oxidized and decomposed. By dissolving the purified crystals of aloine in hot spirits of wine, they are deposited, on the cooling of the solution, in small prismatic needles arranged in stars. When these crystals have a pale yellow color, which does not change when they are dried in the air they may be regarded as pure aloine.

Aloine is quite neutral to test-paper. Its taste is at first sweetish, but soon becomes intensely bitter. Aloine is not very soluble either in cold water or in cold spirits of wine; but if the water or the spirits of wine are even slightly warmed, the solubility of the aloine is exceedingly increased: the color of these solutions is pale yellow. Aloine is also very readily dissolved by the carbonated and caustic fixed alkalies in the cold, forming a deep orange yellow solution, which rapidly grows darker, owing to the oxidation which ensues. The effects of ammonia and its carbonate are precisely similar. When aloine is boiled either with alkalies or strong acids, it is rapidly changed into dark brown resins. A solution of bleaching powder likewise gives aloine a deep orange color, which soon changes to dark brown. Aloine produces no precipitate in solutions either of corrosive sublimate, nitrate of silver, or neutral acetate of lead. It also yields no precipitate with a dilute solution of subacetate of lead; but in a concentrated solution it throws down a deep yellow precipitate, which is pretty soluble in cold water, and is therefore difficult to wash. This precipitate is by no means {179} very stable; and when it is exposed even for a short time to the air, it becomes brown.

When powdered aloine is thrown, in small quantities at a time, into cold fuming nitric acid, it dissolves without evolving any nitrous fumes, and forms a brownish-red solution. On adding a large quantity of sulphuric acid, a yellow precipitate falls, which, when it is washed with water to remove all adhering acid and then dried, explodes when it is heated. It plainly, therefore, contains combined nitric acid. I could not, however, succeed in obtaining this compound in a crystalline state, as when it was dissolved in spirits, it appeared to be decomposed. When aloine is digested for some time with strong nitric acid, much nitrous gas is evolved, and it is converted into chrysammic acid, but without the formation of any nitro-picric acid, as is always the case when crude aloes is subjected to a similar treatment. A quantity of aloine was boiled with a mixture of chlorate of potash and muriatic acid. The acid solution was evaporated to dryness, and digested with strong spirits of wine. The greater portion of the spirits was removed by distillation; and the remainder, when left to spontaneous evaporation; yielded a syrup which could not be made to crystallize. Not a trace of chloranil was produced.

When aloine is destructively distilled, it yields a volatile oil of a somewhat aromatic odor, and also a good deal of resinous matter. When aloine is heated on platinum foil it melts, and then catches fire, burning with a bright yellow flame, and emitting much smoke. It leaves a somewhat difficultly combustible charcoal, which, when strongly heated, entirely disappears, not a trace of ashes being left.

A quantity of aloine dried in vacuo was analyzed with chromate of lead in the usual way.

I. 0.2615 grm. aloine gave 0.5695 carbonic acid and 0.14 water.

II. 0.2415 grm. aloine gave 0.5250 carbonic acid and 0.126 water. {180}

The formula derivable from these analyses is C₃₄ H₁₉ O₁₅, which, as we shall presently see, is = C₃₄ H₁₈ O₁₄ +HO, or aloine with one equivalent of water.

The aloine which had been dried in vacuo was next heated in the water-bath for five or six hours, and was also subjected to analysis.

I. 0.251 grm. aloine dried at 212° F. gave 0.550 carbonic acid and 0.128 water.

II. 0.2535 grm. aloine dried at 212° F. gave 0.564 carbonic acid and 0.129 water.

III. 0.234 grm. aloine dried at 212° F. gave 0.521 carbonic acid and 0.114 water.

The aloine employed in these analyses was prepared at three different times. These results give C₃₄ H₁₈ O₁₄ as the formula of anhydrous aloine, that dried in vacuo being a hydrate with one equivalent of water.

When the aloine was allowed to remain in the water-bath for more than six hours, it continued slowly to lose weight, apparently owing to its undergoing partial decomposition by the formation of a brownish resin. The loss of weight gradually continued for a week or more, but became very rapid when the aloine was heated to 302° F., when it melted, forming a dark brownish mass, which when cooled became as hard and brittle {181} as colophonium. It still, however, contained a good deal of unaltered aloine, as I ascertained by crystallizing it out with hot spirits and analyzing it. Much of the aloine, however, had been changed, most probably by oxidation, into a dark brown un­cry­stal­li­za­ble resin.

BROM-ALOINE.—When an excess of bromine is poured into a cold aqueous solution of aloine, a bright yellow precipitate is immediately produced, the amount of which increases on standing, while at the same time the supernatant liquid becomes very acid from containing free hydrobromic acid. The precipitate, after it has been washed with cold water to remove adhering acid, is dissolved in hot spirits of wine; and on the cooling of the solution it is deposited in bright yellow needles radiating from centres, which attach themselves to the bottom and sides of the containing vessel.

The crystals of brom-aloine are considerably broader than those of aloine, and have a richer yellow color and a higher lustre. Brom-aloine is quite neutral to test-paper, is not so soluble in either cold water or cold spirits of wine as aloine, but dissolves very readily in hot spirits of wine.

I. 0.421 grm. substance dried in vacuo gave 0.547 carbonic acid and 0.103 water.

0.856 grm. gave 0.848 bromide of silver = 42.16 Br.

II. 0.300 grm. substance gave 0.391 carbonic acid and 0.078 water.

0.661 grm. substance gave 0.649 bromide of silver = 0.2762 Br. = 41.78 per cent.

The brom-aloine employed in these analyses was prepared at two different times. It is plain therefore from these results, {182} that this bromine compound is aloine, C₃₄ H₁₈ O₁₄ in which 3 equivs. of hydrogen are replaced by 3 equivs. of bromine.—The formula of brom-aloine therefore is C₃₄ H₁₅ O₁₄ Br₃.

When a stream of chlorine gas was sent for a considerable time through a cold aqueous solution of aloine, a deep yellow precipitate was produced. It contained a great deal of combined chlorine; but as it could not be made to crystallize, it was not subjected to analysis. In the present instance, and in those of several other feeble organic principles, such as orcine, chlorine appears to act some what too strongly, so that the constitution of the substance is destroyed, and merely un­cry­stal­li­za­ble resins are produced. Bromine, on the other hand, is much more gentle in its operations, and usually simply replaces a moderate amount of the hydrogen in the substance, so that, as in the case of orcine and aloine, crystalline compounds are produced.

It has long been known to medical practitioners, that the aqueous extract of aloes is by far the most active preparation of that drug. The reason of this is now very plain, as the concentrated extract of aloes obtained by exhausting aloes with cold water consists chiefly of aloine, by much the larger portion of the resin being left undissolved. Mr. Smith informs me, that from a series of pretty extensive trials, from 2 to 4 grs. of aloine have been found more effective than from 10 to 15 grs. of ordinary aloes. Aloine is, I should think, therefore, likely ere long, to supersede, at least to a considerable extent, the ad­min­i­stra­tion of crude aloes.

I endeavored to obtain aloine by operating on considerable quantities of Barbadoes, Cape and Socotrine aloes. These were macerated in cold water, and the aqueous solutions obtained were concentrated to the state of thin extracts on the water-bath. I was quite unsuccessful in every instance. The impurities contained in the extracts in these different kinds of aloes appear, when in contact with the oxygen of the air, to act upon the aloine so as effectually to prevent it from crystallizing. Aloine can only, therefore, be obtained in a crystalline state by {183} concentrating the cold aqueous solution of aloes in vacuo; though, after the aloine has once been crystallized, and it is freed from the presence of those impurities which appear to act so injuriously upon it, the aloine may be quite readily crystallized out of its aqueous solutions in the open air.

Though aloine has as yet only been obtained from Barbadoes aloes, I have scarcely any doubt that it also exists both in Cape and Socotrine aloes. The amount of aloine in Cape aloes, is, however, in all probability, much smaller than in either of the other two species; for Cape aloes is well known to be a much feebler cathartic, and to contain a mass of impurities. In corroboration of this opinion, I would refer to the fact already mentioned in a previous part of this paper, viz. that when aloine is digested with nitric acid, it is converted into Dr. Schunck’s chrysammic acid. Now it has been satisfactorily ascertained that all the three species of aloes yield chrysammic acid, of which in fact they are the only known sources. Cape aloes, as might have been expected, yields by far the smallest amount of chrysammic acid together with much oxalic and some nitro-picric acids. There appears, therefore, great reason to believe that all the three kinds of aloes contain aloine.

Since the above was written, I have learned from Mr. Smith that he has not succeeded in obtaining crystallized aloine from either Cape or Socotrine aloes. Mr. Smith does not doubt that both of these species of aloes also contain aloine, though, most probably contaminated with so much resin, or some other substances, as prevents it from crystallizing. What tends to confirm Mr. Smith in this opinion is the observation he has made, that when the crude crystals of aloine are allowed to remain in contact with the mother liquor of the Barbadoes aloes, they disappear and become un­cry­stal­li­za­ble. I have also observed a similar occurrence in the mother-liquors of tolerably pure aloine. These become always darker and darker; so that if we continue to dissolve new quantities of aloine in them, at length scarcely any of it crystallizes out, and the whole becomes changed into a dark-colored magma. {184}

In the year 1846, M. E. Robiquet published an account of an examination he had made of Socotrine aloes. By treating the concentrated aqueous solution of this species of aloes with basic acetate of lead, he obtained a brownish yellow precipitate, which was collected on a filter and washed with hot water. On decomposing this lead compound with sulphuretted hydrogen and evaporating the solution to dryness, he obtained an almost colorless varnish, consisting of a scaly mass, which was not in the least degree crystalline. M. E. Robiquet subjected his substance, which he called aloetine, to analysis, and obtained the following result:—

It is plain, therefore, that M. E. Robiquet’s aloetine, if it really is a definite organic principle, which I very much question, is certainly a very different substance from the aloine which has formed the subject of the present notice.—London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine.

ON HENRY’S MAGNESIA. BY DR. MOHR.

In England, under this name is sold a calcined magnesia, at a very high price, which is not to be obtained in any other way. Many English travelers, as well as most of their countrymen, believe that they possess a very large knowledge of medicines, because such things as blue pills, calomel, sweet spirits of nitre, and laudanum they administer without medical advice, and {185} bring this magnesia with them to our shops when they wish a recipe to be dispensed, which contains calcined magnesia as one of the ingredients. By such opportunities, I became acquainted with the purity and beauty of this preparation, and its peculiar silky gloss and whiteness. With a view to discover its method of preparation, I made the following research:—

By heating to redness the ordinary carbonate of magnesia, it is not to be obtained. The ordinary magnesia of commerce, which produces by a red heat a fine calcined magnesia, I exposed in a crucible, to a strong white heat. It solidified, and was of a yellow color, and had become so hard that it was only with the greatest labor that it could be powdered and sifted. Prepared in this way, it cannot be used. I now prepared some carbonate of magnesia, observing that Henry’s was very dense, without reference to that result, which was very fine, by precipitation in the heat. The process by which the flocculent magnesia of commerce is obtained, is not explained in any chemical works. Pure sulphate of magnesia, free from iron, was dissolved in distilled water, and a solution of carbonate of soda added to it as long as anything was precipitated by a boiling heat. The ebullition was continued until the mixture ceased to evolve carbonic acid, and set aside for decantation. When decanted, fresh distilled water was added to the precipitate, and the whole again boiled, and afterwards placed on a filter and washed with hot distilled water, until the liquid passing from the filter gave no trace of sulphuric acid. The precipitate, when pressed and dried, was very white and dense. It was exposed to an intense white heat in a closely-covered Hessian crucible for one hour. When the crucible was opened, I found a beautifully white magnesia, finely granulated. Where it had come in contact with the crucible, it had acquired a yellow color, from the peroxide of iron contained in the crucible. The yellow portion alone adhered firmly to the crucible and the rest was perfectly white, and readily removed. In acids, this magnesia was with difficulty dissolved, although ultimately completely soluble therein. By a repetition of this {186} process, an identical result was obtained. The magnesia thus produced in small lumps exhibited by transmitted light a slight rosy tint, and by reflected light, a very white color. In these respects, it agrees perfectly with Henry’s. To determine its comparative density, a cubic inch measure was filled with its powder, and weighed. As the results of three trials, it contained respectively 10,74, 11,19, and 11,18 grammes of the powder. Two experiments with Henry’s magnesia gave 7, and 7,2 grammes. Three of the carbonate of magnesia, prepared by heat, gave 12,68, 12,9, and 12,5 grm. One of the ordinary calcined magnesia gave 1,985 grm.; and one of the ordinary carbonate of magnesia, 1,4 grm.

The calcined magnesia, as above prepared, contains some hard particles, which are very difficult to pulverize. In attempting to powder them, I remarked that this magnesia, which was washed before being burnt until no traces of sulphuric acid could be detected, now afforded an evidence of a small portion still being present. This same observation I have previously made in the preparation of oxide of zinc. To remove this contamination, I recommend that carbonate of magnesia should first be lightly burnt, and then well washed with hot water, and again burnt with a very strong heat.

The above determinations of the density of the magnesias must not be confounded with their specific gravity. To ascertain the latter is a task of great difficulty, for Rose, in attempting it, obtained such discrepant results, that he has withheld them. The specific gravity of Henry’s magnesia, as near as it could be ascertained, is from 2,50 to 2,67. The magnesia prepared according to my process, gave 3,148 as its specific weight.—Buchner’s Repertorium, in Annals of Pharmacy.

MEDICINE AND PHARMACY IN BRAZIL.

In the entire Brazilian empire, there are two national faculties of medicine, termed Escola Imperial de Medecina, one established at Rio de Janeiro, the other at Bahia—the present {187} and former capitals of Brazil. Both are constituted exactly alike in laws, forms, number of professors, modelled, with very trifling difference, after the constitution of the Ecole de Médecine of Paris. Each college consists of fourteen professors, and six substitute professors, with a director and a vice-director, answering to our own dean and vice-dean of the faculty. The latter are named by Government, from a triple list sent up by the professors every third year, and discharge the ordinary duties of their chairs, being only exempt from attending the examinations. They possess a limited controling power over their college, and constitute the official channel of communication with Government and public bodies, on all matters relating to public health, prisons, &c. The duties of professor-substitute are explained in the name. When illness, or public employment—the latter not unusual in Brazil—interferes with the duties of the professor, his chair is supplied by the substitute: both are appointed, as in France, by concours. Most of the older members have graduated in Portugal, Scotland, France, or Italy. Both classes receive a fixed income from the State, and derive no emolument whatever from pupils and examination fees, &c. which are applied to public purposes connected with the college. The income of the professor was fixed at twelve hundred mil-reis per annum—(about three hundred pounds) when first established; and that of the professor-substitute at eight hundred mil-reis. Both enjoy the right of retirement on their full salary, after twenty years’ service, or when incapacitated by age or infirmities. A travelling professor is elected by concours by the faculty, every four years, for the purpose of investigating, in the different countries of Europe, the latest improvements and discoveries in medicine and the collateral sciences, an account of which he regularly transmits, in formal reports, to his college. His expenses are defrayed by the State.

The medical faculty consists of the following chairs:—1, physics; 2, botany; 3, chemistry; 4, anatomy; 5, physiology; 6, external pathology; 7, internal pathology; 8, materia {188} medica; 9, hygiene; 10, operations; 12, midwifery; 13, clinical medicine; 14, clinical surgery.

In addition to the professors, there is a secretary (medical), treasurer, librarian, and chemical assistant—all elected by the faculty.

The order of study is as follows:—first year, medical physics and medical botany; second year, chemistry and general and descriptive anatomy; third year, anatomy and physiology; fourth year, external pathology, internal pathology, pharmacy and materia medica; fifth year, operative medicine and midwifery; sixth year, hygiene, history of medicine, and legal medicine.

All examinations are public, and the subjects are drawn by lot.

The titles conferred by the faculty, are only three, viz., Doctor in Medicine, Apothecary, and Midwife. The latter is specially educated and examined.

In each chief city there are commonly three or four large hospitals—the Misericordia, or Civil Hospital, possessed of ample funds from endowments, legacies, and certain taxes; the Military and Naval Hopitals; and in Rio, Bahia, and Pernambuco, Leper Hospitals. There are also infirmaries attached to convents. Private subscriptions to institutions are utterly unknown.

The academical session lasts for eight months—from 1st March to 30th October—lectures being delivered daily (with some exceptions) by the professors or their substitutes. The professors of clinical medicine and surgery have the right of selecting their cases from the Misericordia Hospital.

The student, previous to matriculation, must take his degree in arts; and the curiculum is the same for all, viz., six years to obtain the degree of Doctor in Medicine. The examinations are conducted as in Paris. For the degree of Doctor in Surgery—which, however, is not essential—a subsequent and special examination must be undergone, as in France.

All students are classified, on entering college, into medical {189} and phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal; and both are obliged to obtain the degree in arts before they can be matriculated, and to have completed their sixteenth year. The phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal student obtains his diploma of pharmacy after three years study; while that of medicine can only be obtained after six years. The student of pharmacy is obliged to repeat the courses of medical physics, botany, chemistry, pharmacy and materia medica; while one course only of each is required from the medical pupil. The phar­ma­ceu­ti­cal student is obliged to attend for three years in a pharmacy, after the conclusion of his academical studies. He then undergoes an examination by the faculty, and publicly defends a thesis to obtain his diploma. His duty afterwards, as apothecary, is strictly limited to the sale of drugs, and the compounding of prescriptions. He is never consulted professionally; and, did he attempt to apply a remedy for the cure of any disease, he would be immediately fined fifty mil-reis by the municipality, for the first, and an increasing fine for every subsequent offence; and, did he still persist, his licence would be withdrawn. On the other hand, the medical practioner is strictly prohibited from the compounding or sale of medicines, in any shape or form.—Dundas’s Sketches of Brazil.

CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF BROOM. (CYTISUS SCOPARIUS D. C.) BY DR. STENHOUSE.

The broom plants examined by Dr. Stenhouse, had an uncommonly bitter taste. The watery decoction, evaporated down to a tenth part, leaves a gelatinous residue, which consists chiefly of scoparin. This is a yellow colored substance, which, when purified, can be got in stellate crystals, and is easily soluble in boiling water and spirit of wine. Dr. Stenhouse, from five ultimate analyses, assigns it to the constitution C₂₁ H₁₁ O₁₀.

Scoparin is, according to an extensive series of experiments by Dr. Stenhouse, the diuretic principle of broom, which has been recognised by Mead, Cullen, Pearson, Pereira, and others, {190} as one of the most efficacious remedies in dropsy. The dose for an adult is 5 or 6 grains. Its diuretic action begins in 12 hours, and the urine under its use is more than doubled in quantity.

From the mother liquor of the crude scoparin, Dr. S. obtained, by distillation, a colorless oily liquid, which, when purified, was found to be a new volatile organic base spartein. This has a peculiarly bitter taste, and possesses powerful narcotic properties. A single drop dissolved by means of acetic acid, affected a rabbit so much, that it lay stupified for 5 or 6 hours. Another rabbit, which took four grains, first went into a state of violent excitement, then fell into sopor and died in three hours. The author observes that shepherds have long been acquainted with the excitant and narcotic action of broom.

The proportion of Scoparin and spartein, varies very much in plants grown in different localities, which probably explains the very different accounts given by practitioners of its activity as a drug. The author suggests that it would be better to employ pure scoparin free from admixture of spartein.—Edin. Monthly Jour. of Medical Science.

EDITORIAL.

POISONING BY TINCTURE OF ACONITE.

The char­ac­ter­is­tic symptoms produced by poisoning with aconite, are a peculiar numb tingling sensation produced in the tongue and lips, a sensation in the throat, as if the palate were enlarged and elongated, and resting upon the root of the tongue, irritability of the stomach, a numb creeping or tingling sensation felt in the limbs, or over the whole surface, and depressed action of the heart, and consequent prostration and coldness of the extremities. Death when it occurs, seems to depend on the depressing effect produced upon the heart. From this it would seem that the proper treatment would be, 1st, to promote the evacuation of the poison by mild means. 2nd, to maintain the circulation, by keeping the patient as quiet as possible in a horizontal posture, by the application of sinapisms and external warmth to the extremities, and by the ad­min­i­stra­tion of stimulants by the mouth or when they cannot be retained, by the rectum, and 3d, to control, if possible, the vomiting.

Pereira states that aconite, when dropped in the eye, or when taken internally in poisonous doses, produces contraction of the pupils, and that with the exception of opium, it is the only article which does so. In the above case, and in one other, which was likewise seen by the writer, the pupils were dilated, and the same condition was observed in several cases which have been communicated to him.

The above case is note-worthy from the great severity of the symptoms endangering the patients life, which followed the ad­min­i­stra­tion of a single tea-spoonful of the poison. It must have been absorbed too, with great promptness, since the vomiting, which took place in five minutes afforded no relief. This probably depended on the stomach being empty at the time. Much of the difference observed in the effects produced by the same dose, too, doubtless depends on the variation of the strength of the tincture, caused either by the employment of different formulæ in its preparation, or by the occasional use of decayed and inferior roots in making it.

{192}

SPURIOUS SULPHATE OF QUININE.