Chapter XXI: Front Matter (21)

_Prop., &c._ Soluble in alcohol and ether; slightly soluble in boiling water; melts at 176° Fahr.; boils at 412°; highly inflammable, burning with a red and smoky flame; with sulphuric acid, it unites to form sulpho-naphthalic acid. By the action of nitric acid upon naphthalin, numerous substances may be formed, the most interesting being nitro-naphthalin. Naphthalin has lately been extensively employed as a stimulating expectorant.——_Dose_, 5 to 20 gr.; or, preferably, 1/2 gr., frequently. _Externally_, made into an ointment, in dry tetters, psoriasis, &c. 30 gr. may be mixed with 1 oz. of lard.

=NA′PLES YEL′LOW.= See YELLOW PIGMENTS.

=NAR′CEIA.= C_{23}H_{20}G_{9}. _Syn._ NARCEINA, NARCEIA. A peculiar substance discovered by Pelletier in opium. It is obtained from the aqueous solution of opium, after it has been freed from morphia, and narcotina, by ammonia, by adding to it hydrate of lime, or preferably, baryta. On boiling the filtered solution, to expel the ammonia, and evaporating the liquid, crystals of narceine are gradually deposited. It may be purified by solution in hot alcohol and recrystallisation.

_Prop., &c._ White, silky, acicular prisms; neutral; inodorous; bitter; pungent; soluble in 375 parts of water at 60°, and in 330 parts at 212° Fahr.; insoluble in ether; does not neutralise the acids, and is destitute of basic properties. It is distinguished from morphia by its easier fusibility (190°), and by forming a blue liquid with the dilute mineral acids, which on gradual dilution changes to violet and rose red, and ultimately becomes colourless. It does not strike a blue colour with ferric chloride, like morphia, but forms a blue compound with iodine, which is decomposed by boiling water. It appears to be inert, and has not been applied to any useful purpose.

=NAR′COTICS.= _Syn._ STUPEFACIENTS; NARCOTICA, STUPEFACIENTIA, L. Medicines which produce drowsiness, sleep, and stupor. In small doses, narcotics mostly act as stimulants, but in larger ones they produce calmness of mind, drowsiness, and torpor; and in poisonous doses, delirium, coma, and death. The general objects in the administration of these agents are the production of sleep and the alleviation of pain. Their action is modified to a greater degree by idiosyncrasy and habit than that of, perhaps, any other class of medicines. Hence the care necessary in their administration. Alcohol, camphor, chloroform, chloral hydrate, ether, foxglove, hemlock, henbane, morphia, opium, and tobacco, are narcotics.

=NAR′COTINA.= C_{22}H_{23}NO_{7}. _Syn._ NARCOTINE, L.; SEL D’OPIUM, MATIÈRE DE DEROSNE, Fr. A peculiar crystalline substance, found by Derosne in opium, and on which its stimulant property was at first supposed to depend.

_Prep._ 1. From opium exhausted of soluble matter by cold water, by treating it with water acidulated with acetic or hydrochloric acid, filtering, neutralising, with ammonia, and dissolving the washed precipitate in boiling alcohol; the narcotine is deposited as the liquid cools, and may be purified by solution in ether.

2. By acting on opium, previously exhausted by cold water, with ether.

_Prop., &c._ White, inodorous, fluted, or striated prisms; neutral to test paper; insoluble in cold water; sparingly soluble in boiling water; freely soluble in boiling alcohol and in ether. It is only feebly basic.

Narcotine is distinguished from morphia by its insipidity, solubility in ether, insolubility in alkalies, giving an orange tint to nitric acid, and a greasy stain to paper when heated on it over a candle. Another test for narcotina, said by Orfila to be characteristic, is to add to a little of the suspected substance a drop or two of oil of vitriol, and then to add a very small fragment of nitrate of potassium; the liquid speedily acquires a deep blood-red colour if narcotina is present. Morphia treated in the same way strikes a brown or olive-green colour.

_Obs._ The physiological action of narcotina is differently stated by different authorities. 1 gr. of it, dissolved in olive oil, killed a dog in 24 hours: but 24 gr. dissolved in acetic acid were given with impunity. (Magendie.) In the solid state it is inert; 120 gr. at a dose scarcely produce any obvious effects. (Bally.) Scruple doses have been given without injury. (Dr Roots.) It has been recently proposed as a substitute for quinine in the cure of agues. For this purpose the sulphate or hydrochlorate is preferable. 200 cases of intermittent and remittent fevers have been thus successfully treated in India. (Dr O’Shaughnessy.)——_Dose_, 3 to 10 gr., as an antiperiodic sedative, &c.

Turkey opium contains about 1%, and East Indian opium about 3%, of narcotine.

=NA′TRIUM.= See SODIUM.

=NA′TRON.= Native carbonate of soda.

=NAU′SEA.= See SICKNESS.

=NAU′SEANTS.= _Syn._ NAUSEANTIA, L. Substances which induce an inclination to vomit, without effecting it. See EMETICS.

=NAVEL, Starting of.= To remedy this, take a slice of cork about the circumference of a shilling, and a little thicker; and having covered the projecting navel with a small circular piece of clean, soft linen, place the cork on the linen, strapping it into position by means of cross strips of _white_ sticking plaster (simple lead plaster) over which the usual roller is to be adjusted. Be careful to have the plaster of sufficient length, and to see that it adheres tightly to the skin.

=NEC′TAR.= The fabled drink of the mythological deities. The name was formerly given to wine dulcified with honey; it is now occasionally applied to other sweet and pleasant beverages of a stimulating character. The following LIQUEURS are so called:——

_Prep._ 1. Chopped raisins, 2 lbs.; loaf sugar, 4 lbs.; boiling water, 2 galls.; mix, and stir frequently until cold, then add 2 lemons, sliced; proof spirit (brandy or rum), 3 pints; macerate in a covered vessel for 6 or 7 days, occasionally shaking, next strain with pressure, and let the strained liquid stand in a cold place for a week to clear; lastly, decant the clear portion, and bottle it.

2. Red ratafia, 3 gall.; oils of cassia and caraway, of each 25 drops (dissolved in); brandy, 1/2 pint; orange wine, 1 gall.; sliced oranges, 6 in no.; lump sugar, 2 lbs.; macerate for a week, decant and bottle. See ARRACK (Factitious.)

=NE′GUS.= A well-known beverage, so named after its originator and patron, Colonel Negus. It is made of either port or sherry wine, mixed with about twice its bulk of hot water, sweetened with lump sugar, and flavoured with a little lemon juice and grated nutmeg, and a small fragment only of the yellow peel of the lemon. The addition of about 1 drop of essence of ambergris, or 8 or 10 drops of essence of vanilla, distributed between about a dozen glasses, improves it.

=NEPEN′THE.= A drink calculated to banish the remembrance of grief. In the “Odyssey” Homer describes Helen as administering it to Telemachus. Nothing is known respecting the composition of the ancient nepenthe. The name is applied to a preparation of opium by many old writers, and is now employed by a Bristol firm to designate a preparation resembling in all essential points Battley’s ‘LIQUOR OPII SEDATIVUS,’

=NER′VOUSNESS.= The indescribable derangement of health, and the complication of disagreeable sensations which are popularly described under this name, quite as much deserve the serious attention of both patient and physician as any other affection to which the human frame is liable. Although, in itself, not a definite disease, it is indicative of the vital system being out of order, that its energies are failing or overtasked, and that the functions of some of its organs are languidly or imperfectly performed. This condition, if not removed, may gradually lead to the development of actual disease, and imperil life if the conditions whereon it is dependent be not detected and subdued.

The _treatment_ of nervousness consists mainly in restoring the healthy action of the stomach and bowels, and in the use of proper exercise, especially in the open air. The stomach should not be overloaded with indigestible food, and the bowels should be occasionally relieved by the use of some mild aperient. Mental as well as bodily relaxation should be sought, and the pleasures without the vices of society should be indulged in as discretion and inclination may direct. Abernethy’s injunction to a nervous and dyspeptic lady, “Dismiss your servants, madam, and make your own beds,” should be recollected by all, and may be taken as a proof of the importance that eminent surgeon attached to exercise; his advice to the indolent and nervous dyspeptic should not be forgotten, “Live on sixpence a day——and earn it.” See EXERCISE, FLATULENCE, HYPOCHONDRIASIS, HYSTERIA, INDIGESTION, &c.

=NESSLER’S TEST for ammonia, &c.= This, the most delicate test for ammonia, was devised by Nessler. It is prepared by saturating a solution of iodide of potassium with the biniodide of mercury, and then adding a weak solution of hydrate of sodium. The addition of a few drops of this solution, to one containing ammonia, produces a yellowish tint when only a trace of ammonia is present, but a dark brown precipitate when the ammonia is present in larger quantity. The composition of the precipitate may be represented thus:——NHg_{2}I. A modification of this test is applied to the detection of wood spirit in common alcohol. A dilute solution of the iodides in question in pure alcohol is formed, in the proportion of 2 or 3 gr. of the salts to 100 c.c. of alcohol. About 4 c.c. of the suspected alcohol are taken, to which are added 2 or 3 drops of the test solution, a few drops of alcoholic ammonia, and, lastly, a little alcoholic potash; if wood spirit be present, the solution will remain clear, but if the alcohol be pure, the characteristic reddish brown precipitate will appear. The precipitate is soluble in acetone, which is always present in wood spirit.

Professor Wanklyn gives the following formulæ for the preparation of the Nessler test:——Mercuric chloride in powder, 35 grammes; iodide of potassium, 90 grammes; water, 1-3/4 litres; heat gently till dissolved (say 20 minutes) in a large basin. Then add of stick caustic potash, 320 grammes, and 50 c.c. of saturated solution of mercuric chloride. The above will be ready for use in 2 hours, and gives maximum colour in 3 minutes.

=NESTS, EDIBLE.= These dietetic curiosities, which are esteemed as great gastronomic luxuries by the Chinese, are formed by several species of swallows frequenting the Indian Seas. The so-called nests chiefly abound in Java, Borneo, and the Celebes, being found in the caverns both inland and on the sea-shores of those islands.

They are not in reality birds’ nests, but merely supports, by which the bird is enabled to sustain and also to attach its nest to the rock. The nests themselves consist of grass, leaves, and seaweed; the latter of which substances it was for a long time erroneously considered formed the esculent; whereas it is the support which exclusively constitutes this Eastern table luxury.

This, in great part, consists of a peculiar mucus, of a gelatinous nature, which it has been ascertained the bird secretes and discharges from its mouth in large quantities. The Chinese mostly use it in the form of soup, and believe it to be possessed of considerable nutrient power. As many as 8,400,000 of edible nests are said to be annually imported into Canton. “The finest and whitest kind sells for £5 or £6 the lb.; but it requires about fifty nests to make up one pound. The brackets or supports are moved three times, the best being obtained in July and August.”[44]

[Footnote 44: Church.]

=NET′TLE RASH.= See RASH.

=NEURAL′GIA.= Literally, pain in a nerve. “Various parts of the body are liable to be affected with excruciating pain, which is quite independent of any inflammation of the part, and which may often be traced in the course of the nerves.” These affections constitute neuralgia. One of the most distressing forms of this disease is FACIAL NEURALGIA or TIC DOULOUREUX (NEURALGIA FACIALIS), which, when it assumes a marked intermittent character, is popularly known as ‘FACE AGUE,’ Sometimes it attacks the nerves of the female breast; or those of the hand, feet, hip, or loins, in which cases it is often confounded with acute rheumatism of those parts, occurring towards the inner extremity of the eyebrow and extending over the forehead, it is known as “Brow-ague.”

The treatment, when neuralgia is symptomatic of any other affection, must be directed to the primary disease. When it is idiopathic, or an independent affection, powerful tonic medicines and powerful local counter-irritation are generally found the most successful remedies. Of tonics, carbonates of iron and bark (both in very large doses) are generally preferred; the last more particularly when the affection is of an intermittent kind. As a counter-irritant, caustic ammonia has been much relied on. When all other means fail, a current of mild streaming electricity through the part will often give immediate relief. In the present day quinine in large doses is much depended on, although the affection should not present the intermittent type.

_Plain Advice to the Neuralgic by a Family Doctor._[45]——Here, reader, are two facts, which are patent to every thinking medical man: first, this agonising complaint, called neuralgia, is very much more common or prevalent in our day than it was in the days of our forefathers; and secondly, those among us who are most apt to suffer from it are they who live in luxury, or who live too fast, and neglect to keep their bodies up to the proper health-pitch. The poor, too, are often afflicted in the same way, and those who are much confined in workshops, and badly ventilated factories. From this it is not difficult to perceive a lesson may be learned.

[Footnote 45: The article entitled “Plain Advice to the Neuralgic,” which appeared in ‘Cassell’s Family Magazine,’ is so good that we reprint it verbatim.]

Little need is there to describe the symptoms of neuralgia, whether it takes the form of tic douloureux or faceache, hemicrania or half headache (sometimes, but wrongly, called sun-pain), or sciatica, in which the pain follows the course of a nerve running down the back of the leg, even at times as far as the toes. The pain when fully established is of a terribly acute kind, and indescribable burning and shooting——torture, in fact. It generally comes on without any warning at all, in one sharp twinge, which soon recurs and keeps on increasing, till the poor patient is half distracted, and his pale anxious face is beaded with perspiration.

Of the three kinds of neuralgia, the most common by far is tic, or faceache. This pain seems to ‘come out,’ as I have heard patients describe it, from a spot between the ear and temple, and spread itself over one side of the face, adown the jaws along one side of the nose, and into the eye itself. The fits of pain seem at times induced by the most trifling causes, such as a sudden start, a loud, quick sound, as the slamming of a door, or the slightest draught of cold air, a mouthful of hot tea or cold water. Sometimes the patient will get ease if he keeps in bed, with the face entirely buried in warm soft flannel, but contact with the pillow will at once induce a paroxysm. Sleep banishes the pain entirely for the time, or perhaps altogether, if the slumber has been natural, and not induced by weakening, enervating narcotics.

Now let us see for a moment what are the usual causes of neuralgia. If we know these, it will assist us materially in laying down rules for the general treatment of the complaint. And here let me premise that some cases are incurable, because they depend upon pressure by tumours of some kind at the root of the nerve, maybe a bit of bone growing into it. For remember the nerves are extremely sensitive if pressed upon directly. A kinder-hearted man than Professor L——, of Aberdeen, or ‘Sandie’ as he was familiarly termed, never lived; but he used to tell us students, “Gentlemen, in cutting down upon an artery, in one of the extremities, you will often find the artery, the vein, and the corresponding nerve lying in juxtaposition. You can easily tell the vein, but you may be puzzled to know which is nerve and which artery; give one of them, then, a slight pinch with the forceps——if it is the former, oh! won’t the patient holloa! but if he doesn’t holloa, go on, tie away.”

And I have often seen this put in practice with the very happiest results, so far as the operator was concerned. I merely mention this to prove to you that pressure on the root of a nerve may cause an incurable form of neuralgia. But do not think that I wish to frighten you! I therefore hasten to tell the perhaps afflicted reader, that these cases are very rare indeed, and that the large majority of those who suffer from the malady may be cured for the time, and the disease even prevented from returning.

I said that very often neuralgia gave no warning, but came on suddenly, but it more often comes on gradually, and is preceded by some derangement of the general health, such as indigestion. From this fact, again, the wise may take a hint.

I do not say that strong men with robust constitutions never take neuralgia, but all my experience, and that I believe of nearly all medical men, go to prove that it is more frequently an accompaniment of a weakened frame of body, with a nervous system below par. This may have been occasioned by bodily fatigue combined with want of sleep, anxiety of mind, worry, &c., or from debility from whatever cause. But I must not forget to say that indigestion is a frequent cause, and excess in eating and drinking combined with late hours in hot rooms. Another hint, please, reader. Foul air, especially living in malarious districts, will also bring on neuralgia, and in this case the attacks are generally of a periodical kind. The great majority, however, of the cases of neuralgia which come under the notice of the practitioner, are caused by decayed teeth. And this fact gives us hint number three.

Sciatica cases are at times exceedingly distressing. I shall just mention one, which I cured not long since; and we may learn something from it because the cure was so simple. A gentleman, thirty-two years of age he was, spare but wiry; from errors in diet, I elicited, he had become troubled with indigestion and heartburn, which lasted for months; and, moreover, he had quite his own share of that heart-eating canker, care. For the heartburn he was in the habit of swallowing large quantities of the bicarbonate of soda. Now it is well known that antacids, although they may palliate fits of indigestion, cannot cure them; and, moreover, the constant use of an antacid like soda never fails to bring on a state of debility and poverty of blood. In the present case the pains in the limb were almost constant, combined with stiffness of the muscles, which necessitated the use of a staff in walking. At about three or four o’clock every morning there were paroxysms of the most terrible agony, during which the patient would leave his bed because, he said, “it wasn’t level,” and, rolled in a rug, lie at full length on the floor, bathed in pain-induced perspiration. It was no wonder he was glad to take that dangerous narcotic, hydrate of chloral, to give him quiet nights. But this only reduced his system more and more, and gave the enemy a stronger hold thereon. When I saw him he had been suffering thus for two months, and was indeed in a pitiable plight. But giving up both the chloral and the soda, going for change of air, using some simple tonic, and being careful in his diet, worked wonders for him. The sciatica left him in one week, and in six weeks he was well and hearty.

One of the most distressing things in connection with neuralgia is the length of time it sometimes lasts, and its habit of returning periodically, without giving, perhaps, any warning of its approach. The depression, too, of the nervous system which it effects is very great; even the mind to some extent suffers; the patient becomes timid and irritable, while at times even the muscles waste. The sufferer, if the complaint continues long, seems positively to age under it. That he soon recovers strength and spirits when the enemy has been driven from his stronghold, is only a proof of the recuperative power of nature in our systems, so long as youth or middle age is on our side.

Some ancient physician has said that no one thinks of taking care of his health until death stares him in the face. There is one exception, however: people very rarely die directly from neuralgia, unless it be that dreadful form of it called angina pectoris, or heart-cramp; but so great is the pain and torture from tic douloureux or sciatica, that sufferers therefrom are glad and willing to do anything that may present some hopes of relief.

The patient, then, who wishes to recover from this disease must first try to find out the cause of it, in his or her particular case. Is the digestion good? are the teeth good? is the health below par? are the spirits buoyant or the reverse? is the kind of life led that which seems to conduce to health and longevity?——these are questions which he had better put to himself and think well over before commencing any treatment except the simple means of local relief which I shall presently mention; for, depend upon it, whatsoever tends to place the system below par opens the door for the cruel foe’s entrance. And the converse is likewise true.

If you, then, suffer from tic douloureux, see, first and foremost, that it does not arise from caries of the teeth. Only a dentist can find this out for you, for a tooth may be sound enough to appearance, and yet decayed within. Often the removal of one or two teeth will effect, in an hour, the complete cure of a case that has been going on for months.

The treatment for neuralgia may be fitly divided into the topical, or that which gives relief at once, without reference to permanent cure, and the constitutional, or that which tends to remove the cause and prevent any recurrence. I shall mention the former of these first. Probably that which gives the greatest relief is the subcutaneous injection of morphia; but as this tiny but comforting operation can only be performed by some one with skill, I pass it by, and tell you of the great good that may be done by twice a day smearing the track of the nerve with the aconitine ointment; only remember, it must not be applied to an abraded surface. When it can be borne, alternate douches of hot and cold water sometimes give relief, and rubbing or shampooing the parts for some length of time may result in good.

But if the pain is at its worst, and immediate relief is needed, the inhalation of or smelling at a vial of chloroform will act like a charm. Take first a little good Scotch whiskey, with from 20 to 40 drops of the spirit of ether in it; then have, not one sniff, but two or three good sniffs at the vial of chloroform. It will not make you insensible, but it will scare away the pain. I often do good by administering one large dose of quinine. I am rather chary of advising you, however, to try it, because ten or fifteen grains of this invaluable medicine may work injury if either head or heart is easily affected.

People often complain of what they call rheumatism in the jaw, where probably the whole of the teeth in one side, not one more than another, are affected. Now the drug called sal ammoniac (chloride of ammonium) is almost a specific for this kind of faceache. It strikes me I have recommended this before——probably in my paper on the teeth——however, it will bear repeating. The dose is half a dram three or four times a day, but if it doesn’t do good after the fourth or fifth dose, it may be stopped. It is well worth a trial, and is safe.

Neuralgia and rheumatism are at times mysteriously allied, and, did space permit, I could tell you of some very strange cures effected by the use of the dumb-bells——first, I think, recommended by Dr Arnott. When the pain comes on, the patient has recourse to these; and whether it is the indomitable power of will or the effect on the circulation I know not——all I know is, it often scares the tic away, and that is something.

Nothing probably gives more certain relief in cases of sciatica than a small blister, not bigger than a penny-piece, just over the spot where the nerve seems to come out, _i. e._ where the pain begins, and afterwards dusting not more than half a grain of morphia on the raw surface. And now for constitutional remedies. I will not allow any patient of mine to cuddle and fondle himself and his neuralgia over the fire or in bed one hour longer than is necessary. The mind has a wonderful effect on nervous ailments, and by letting it dwell on them you assuredly increase them; besides, the body is under par, exercise is needed, and pure air and many things besides; and therefore I prescribe activity, to begin with, not senseless walk-taking, but healthy exercise-with-a-purpose.

Medicine must not be neglected; but I assure you, unless you not only take plenty of exercise, regulate your diet, and in some way alter for the better your usual mode of life, it will just be as well, if not better, to pour the medicine down the nearest rat’s hole. That may be a plain way of putting it, but it is very true notwithstanding. Now, I think in most cases an occasional mild purgative will do good, for tonics should never be taken unless the bowels are regular; and as the liver is at times just a _little_ to blame, a claret-glassful of Friedrichshall water may be taken twice a week with benefit. Your tonic, unless there be great fulness of blood, had better be an iron one, combined with quinine, which any chemist will compound you. Tell him you want the tincture of iron, and a little dilute hydrochloric acid, in a quinine mixture. Probably he will say the citrate of iron and quinine is better (it is more easily compounded), and then it will be for you to consider whether you will be advised by him or by your ‘Family Doctor.’ Here is a beautiful wee mixture, which you can compound for yourself, and the dose of which is a teaspoonful in a little water 3 times a day:——Take 2 oz. of tincture of quinine, 1/2 oz. of tincture of ginger, and the same quantity of pure glycerin, and mix. The following is a capital tonic to be taken after an attack of neuralgia and continued some weeks:——Liquor arsenicalis hydrochlorici, 100 drops; quinine, 30 gr.; elixir of vitriol, 2 dr.; ginger syrup, 3 oz.; mix. And the dose is a teaspoonful after every meal in a drop of water. When mentioning sal ammoniac, I ought to have said that in those cases where good is done——and they are very many——whenever the pain is gone, you should reduce the dose to 10 or 15 gr. thrice a day for a week. In some cases of sciatica, where the subject is a gouty or rheumatic one, good is done by a course of iodide of potassium in combination with tonics.

As for food, the more nourishing it is the better——good meat, plenty of eggs and milk, &c., and perhaps a little brandy and Apollinaris water.

Give up tea and coffee for a time, and use cocoa; the less oily kind is the best. My advice for the prevention of the return of neuralgia may be summed up in a few substantives——air, exercise, regularity, temperance, tonics, cocoa, and cod-liver oil.

=NEUTRALISA′TION.= The admixtures of an alkali or base with an acid in such proportions that neither shall predominate. A neutral compound neither turns red litmus paper blue, nor blue litmus paper red.

=NEUTRALISING PROPORTIONS, Table of.=

_Table of the Neutralising Proportions of some of the
Acids and Alkaline Carbonates omitting minute
fractions. The best commercial preparations must be
used._

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | || |Bicarb. of| |Carbonate| Sesqui- | Bi-
Tartaric|Citric |Lemon ||Cr. Carb.| Soda and |Bicarb. of| of |carbonate | carbonate
Acid. | Acid. |Juice.||of Soda. | Carb. of | Potash. |Magnesia.| of | of
| | || | Potash. | | | Ammonia. | Ammonia.
--------+-------+------++---------+----------+----------+---------+----------+---------
Grs. | Grs. | ʒ || Grs. | Grs. | Grs. | Grs. | Grs. | Grs.
10 | 9-1/4| 2-1/6|| 19 | 11 | 13-1/2 | 6-1/2 | 8-1/4 | 10-1/2
10-3/4| 10 | 2-1/3|| 20-1/2| 12 | 14-1/2 | 7 | 8-1/2 | 11-1/2
13 | 12 | 2-4/5|| 25 | 14-1/2 | 17-1/2 | 8-1/4 | 10 | 13-1/2
15 | 14 | 3-1/4|| 29 | 17 | 20-1/3 | 9-1/2 | 12 | 16
15-1/2| 14-1/2| 3-1/3|| 30 | 17-1/4 | 21 | 10 | 12-1/4 | 16-1/2
18 | 17 | 4 || 34-1/2| 20 | 24-1/4 | 11-1/2 | 14 | 19
20 | 18-1/2| 4-1/3|| 38-1/2| 22-1/3 | 27 | 12-3/4 | 15-1/2 | 21
20-1/2| 19 | 4-1/2|| 40 | 23 | 27-1/2 | 13 | 16 | 21-1/2
26 | 24 | 5-1/2|| 50 | 29 | 35 | 16-1/2 | 18-1/4 | 27
27 | 25 | 5-5/6|| 52 | 30 | 36 | 17 | 21 | 28-1/2
32 | 30 | 7 || 61 | 36 | 43 | 20-1/2 | 25 | 33-1/2
36 | 33-1/2| 7-5/6|| 69 | 40 | 48-1/2 | 23 | 28 | 38
47 | 44 |10-1/4|| 90 | 52-1/2 | 63 | 30 | 37 | 49-1/2
52 | 48-1/2|11-1/3|| 100 | 58 | 70 | 33 | 41 | 55
62 | 58 |13-1/2|| 120 | 69 | 84 | 40 | 49 | 65-1/2
73 | 68 |15-5/6|| 140 | 82 | 98 | 46-1/2 | 57 | 77
75 | 70 |16-1/4|| 144 | 84 | 101 | 48-1/2 | 59 | 79
90 | 84 |19-1/2|| 172 | 101 | 121 | 57-1/2 | 71 | 94-1/2
92 | 86 |20 || 177 | 103 | 124 | 59 | 72 | 97
100 | 93 |21-2/3|| 192 | 112 | 134 | 64 | 78 | 105-1/2
108 |100 |23-1/3|| 206 | 120 | 145 | 69 | 84 | 113
180 |168 |39-1/5|| 344 | 202 | 242 | 115 | 141 | 190
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=NEW BERLIN SANITARY LIQUEUR——Gesundheits-Liqueur, neuer Berliner= (Apotheker Emil Trotz). An unpleasantly-tasting bitter spicey schnapps, containing 18 per cent. of sugar. Leaves an after-taste of aloes. (Hager.)

=NICK′EL.= Ni. _Syn._ NICKELIUM, L. A metal obtained from kupfernickel, a native arsenide of nickel found in Westphalia; also from nickel speiss, an impure arsenio-sulphide of nickel left after the manufacture of cobalt blue from its ores.

_Prep._ The powdered ore is roasted first by itself, and next with charcoal powder, until all the arsenic is expelled, and a garlic odour ceases to be evolved; the residuum is mixed with sulphur 3 parts, and potassium hydrate, 1 part, and the compound is melted in a crucible with a gentle heat; the fused mass when cold, is reduced to powder, edulcorated with water, dissolved in sulphuric acid mixed with a little nitric acid, and precipitated with potassium carbonate; the precipitate (nickelous carbonate) is washed, dried, mixed with powdered charcoal, and, lastly, reduced by the heat of a powerful furnace.

When nickel predominates in the ore, after the arsenic, iron, and copper have been separated, ammonia is digested in the mixed nickelous and cobaltous oxides, and the resulting blue solution, after dilution with boiled pure water, is treated with potassium hydrate until the colour disappears, when the whole is put into an air-tight vessel, and set it aside for some time. The powder (nickelous hydrate) which subsides, after edulcoration, is mixed with charcoal, and reduced by fusion in a crucible containing some crown glass.

On the small scale, for chemical purposes, pure nickel is best obtained by moderately heating nickelous oxalate in a covered crucible lined with charcoal.

_Prop._ White; hard; malleable; magnetic; capable of receiving the lustre of silver; sp. gr., when hammered, about 8·82; fusibility between that of manganese and iron; it is not oxidised in the air; and is little attacked by dilute acids unless when nitric acid is present; this last acid dissolves it freely. With the acids, &c., it forms numerous compounds, most of which may be prepared by the direct solution of the carbonate. A specimen of the metal reduced from the pure oxide in a current of hydrogen was beautifully white and silvery; its sp. gr. was 8·575, and it was almost as soft as copper.

_Tests._ The salts of nickel in the anhydrous state are for the most part yellow; when hydrated, green,——and furnish solutions possessing a pale green colour. Solutions of its salts exhibit the following reactions:——Alkaline hydrates give a pale apple-green precipitate, insoluble in excess, but soluble in a solution of carbonate of ammonium, yielding a greenish-blue liquid. Ammonia gives a similar precipitate, soluble in excess, yielding a deep purplish-blue solution. The presence of ammonium salts or free acids interferes with this reaction. Cyanide of potassium produces a green precipitate, soluble in excess, forming an amber-coloured liquid, which is reprecipitated by hydrochloric acid. This last precipitate is scarcely soluble in excess of the acid in the cold, but readily so upon boiling the liquid. Ferrocyanide of potassium gives a greenish-white precipitate. Sulphuretted hydrogen occasions no change in solutions of nickel containing free mineral acid; but in alkaline solutions gives a black precipitate. Sulphide of ammonium in neutral solutions gives a black precipitate, soluble with difficulty in hydrochloric acid; but freely soluble in aqua regia.

_Estim._ Nickel may be thrown down from its ore in the form of either carbonate or hydrate, and after ignition may be weighed as oxide, each grain of which is equal to 7/8 gr. of pure nickel; or, more accurately, ·7871 gr.

According to Rose, nickel may be separated from cobalt as follows:——The mixed metals are dissolved in considerable excess of hydrochloric acids, and the solution is diluted with a very large quantity of water; a current of chlorine is then passed through the liquor for several hours, and the upper part of the flask is left filled with the gas after the current has ceased; barium carbonate is next added, in excess, the whole digested together, with frequent agitation for 15 or 18 hours, and then thrown on a filter. The filtrate yields pure nickelous oxide by precipitation with hydrate of potassium; whilst the residuum on the filter, after being washed in water, dissolved in hot hydrochloric acid, and the barium precipitated with sulphuric acid, furnishes, with hydrate of potassium, a precipitate of cobaltous hydrate, free from nickel, which, when washed and dried, is reduced in a platinum or porcelain crucible by hydrogen gas.

_Uses._ Nickel is chiefly employed in the manufacture of German silver. Some of its salts have been recently introduced into medical practice, and appear likely to prove most valuable additions to the materia medica. It has also been recently used for deposition by electrolysis on other metals, forming a hard, brilliant, non-tarnishing coating.

=Nickelic Oxide.= Ni_{2}O_{3}. _Syn._ SESQUIOXIDE OF NICKEL, PEROXIDE OF NICKEL. _Prep._ By passing chlorine through water holding the hydrate in suspension; or by mixing a salt of nickel with bleaching powder. An insoluble, black powder, which is decomposed by heat.

=Nick′elous Ace′tate.= Ni(C_{2}H_{3}O_{2})_{2}. _Syn._ NICKELII ACETAS, L. _Prep._ By neutralising acetic acid with nickelous carbonate, and gently concentrating by evaporation, so that crystals may form. Small green crystals, soluble in 6 parts of water.

=Nickelous Car′bonate.= NiCO_{3} _Syn._ NICKELII CARBONAS, L. _Prep._ This salt may be obtained in the manner described above in connection with the preparation of metallic nickel, or by simply adding carbonate of sodium to a solution of nickelous chloride of sulphate, but in this case some hydrate is precipitated along with it. The following is another formula which produces a nearly pure carbonate, but one which may still contain a little cobalt, the entire separation of which is a matter of extreme difficulty, and can best be effected in the manner recommended by Rose, described above:——

The mineral (crude speiss or kupfernickel) is broken into small fragments, mixed with from one fourth to one half its weight of iron filings, and the whole dissolved in aqua regia; the solution is gently evaporated to dryness, the residue treated with boiling water, and the insoluble ferrous arseniate removed by filtration; the liquid is next acidulated with hydrochloric acid, treated with sulphuretted hydrogen, in excess, to precipitate the copper, and, after filtration, is boiled with a little nitric acid, to bring back the iron into ferric salts; to the cold and largely diluted liquid a solution of bicarbonate of sodium is gradually added, and the ferric oxide separated by filtration; lastly, the filtered solution is boiled with carbonate of sodium in excess, and the pale green precipitate of carbonate collected, washed, and dried.

_Uses, &c._ It is freely soluble in the acids, and is chiefly employed to prepare the salts and other compounds of nickel.

=Nickelous Chlo′′ride.= NiCl_{2}. _Syn._ NICKELII CHLORIDUM, L. _Prep._ From nickelous carbonate and hydrochloric acid, as the acetate. Small green crystals, of the formula NiCl_{2},9Aq., which are rendered yellow and anhydrous by heat, unless they contain cobalt, when the salt retains a tint of green.

DOUBLE CHLORIDES. Nickelous chloride unites with the chlorides of ammonium, potassium, and sodium, to form pale green crystallisable salts, which have been used for depositing nickel in iron, lead, copper, &c.

=Nickelous Hy′drate.= Ni(HO)_{2}. By precipitating a soluble salt of nickel with caustic potassa. Hydrated. An ash-gray powder, freely soluble in acids, forming the ordinary salts of nickel.

=Nickelous Ox′alate.= NiC_{2}O_{4}. _Syn._ NICKELII OXALAS, L. _Prep._ By adding a strong solution of oxalic acid to a like solution of nickelous sulphate, and collecting the pale bluish-green precipitate which forms after a time. Used to prepare both metallic nickel and its oxide.

=Nickelous Oxide.= NiO. _Syn._ PROTOXIDE OF NICKEL. _Prep._ 1. By heating the nitrate, carbonate, or oxalate, to redness in open vessels. Anhydrous.

=Nickelous Sulphate.= NiSO_{4}. _Syn._ SULPHATE OF NICKEL. _Prep._ Dissolve nickelous carbonate or oxide in dilute sulphuric acid, evaporate down, and crystallise. Pale green prismatic crystals, and of the formula NiSO_{4},7Aq., or small pale green octahedrons, when crystallised at a higher temperature, containing NiSO_{4},6Aq.

=Nickelous and Potassium Sulphate.= NiSO_{4} K_{2}SO_{4},6Aq. _Syn._ DOUBLE SULPHATE OF NICKEL AND POTASSIUM. _Prep._ By crystallising a mixture of nickelous and potassium sulphates. Pale green crystals, readily soluble in water. Sodium and ammonium sulphates form similar compounds with nickelous sulphate.

=NICK′EL SIL′VER.= See GERMAN SILVER.

=NIC′OTINE.= C_{10}H_{14}N_{2}. _Syn._ NICOTINA, NICOTIA, L. A volatile base, discovered by Reiman and Posselt in tobacco.

_Prep._ (Ortigosa.) Infuse tobacco leaves for 24 hours in water acidulated with sulphuric acid, strain, evaporate to a syrup, add 1/6 of its volume of a strong solution of potassa, and distil in an oil bath at 288°, occasionally adding a little water to assist the process, and prevent the too great concentration of the solution of potassa in the retort; next saturate the distilled product with oxalic acid, evaporate to dryness, digest in boiling absolute alcohol, evaporate the resulting tincture to a syrup, and decompose the oxalate of nicotine thus obtained by adding potassa to it in a close vessel, and agitate the mass with ether, repeating the process with more ether until all the nicotine is dissolved out; lastly, distil the mixed ethereal solution in an oil bath. At first ether comes over, then water, and, lastly, nicotina, which, towards the end of the process, assumes a yellowish tint.

2. (Schloesing.) This chiefly differs from the preceding by directing the concluding distillation to be conducted in a retort, by the heat of an oil bath, at the temperature of 284° Fahr., in a current of hydrogen, for 12 hours; after which, by raising the heat to 356° Fahr., the nicotine distils over pure, drop by drop.

3. (Kirchmann). A tin vessel provided with two tubulures, is filled with tobacco, which is previously damped with sodium carbonate. One of the tubulures admits a glass tube reaching nearly to the bottom of the vessel; the other is provided with a glass tube merely penetrating the cork.

The vessel is made air-tight, placed into a boiling hot steam bath, and a rapid stream of carbonic acid gas passed through it, entering the vessel by the longer and leaving it by the shorter tube; the latter dips into a mixture of alcohol and dilute sulphuric acid.

In this manner a large yield of perfectly colourless nicotine is obtained. In order to obtain the pure alkaloid, caustic baryta is added to the solution, the latter evaporated to dryness, and the pure nicotine extracted with ether.

To estimate nicotine, weigh out 15 gr. of tobacco, digest for twenty-four hours with alcohol of 85 per cent. acidified with 15 drops of sulphuric acid, so as to make 150 cubic centimètres. Evaporate 50 cubic centimètres of the filtered liquid, and add iododydrargyrate of potassium to the residue. The number of cubic centimètres employed, multiplied by 0·00405 (0·001 of the equivalent of nicotine), gives the quantity of alkaloid contained in 5 grams of tobacco. (Linoffsky.)

_Prop., &c._ Nicotina is a colourless, volatile liquid; highly acrid and pungent; smelling strongly of tobacco; boiling at 375° Fahr. (482°——Pereira); soluble in water, ether, alcohol, and oils; and combining with the acids, forming salts, many of which are crystallisable. It is a frightful poison; 1/4 of a drop will kill a rabbit; a single drop will kill a large dog. Nicotina is the substance which was employed by the Count Bocarmé for the purpose of poisoning his brother-in-law, Gustave Fougnies, the particulars of which were developed in the celebrated trial, in Belgium, of that nobleman, in 1851. Good Virginia and Kentucky tobacco, dried at 212° Fahr., contain from 6% to 7% of nicotina; Havannah tobacco (_cigars_) less than 2%. (Schloesing.)

=NIGHT′MARE.= _Syn._ INCUBUS, EPHIALTES, L. The common causes of nightmare are indigestion and the use of narcotic and intoxicating substances. Its prevention consists in the selection of proper food, and in duly attending to the state of the stomach and bowels. Heavy and late suppers should be particularly avoided, as well as all articles of diet that are of difficult digestion, or apt to induce flatulency. When it arises from strong drink, tobacco, or opium, these should be abandoned, or employed in smaller quantities. A teaspoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia, magnesia, or bicarbonate of soda, taken in a glass of cold water on going to bed, is a good and simple preventive. In cases accompanied by restlessness, a few drops of laudanum or tincture of henbane may be added. An occasional aperient is also excellent. See CHAMOMILE.

=NIGHT′SHADE (Deadly).= _Syn._ BELLADONNA (B. P., Ph. L. E. & D.). “The leaf, fresh and dried (leaves and root——Ph. D.), of _Atropa belladonna_, Linn.” “The fresh leaves and branches to which they are attached; also the leaves separate from the branches, carefully dried, of _Atropa belladonna_, gathered, when the fruit has begun to form, from wild or cultivated plants in Britain” (B. P.). “Oval, acute, very perfect, glabrous, when bruised, exhaling a disagreeable odour. The herb which grows spontaneously in hedges and uncultivated places is to be preferred to that which is cultivated in gardens.” (Ph. L.)

Belladonna is a powerful narcotic, and is used as an anodyne, antispasmodic, and discutient, in a variety of diseases,——neuralgia, arthritic pains, migratory rheumatic pains, spasmodic rigidity and strictures, angina pectoris, hooping-cough, fevers, phthisis, &c.; also as a prophylactic of scarlet fever, as a resolvent in enlarged and indurated glands, to produce dilatation of the pupil, &c., &c.——_Dose._ Of the powder, commencing with 1 gr., gradually and cautiously increased until dryness of the throat or dilation of the pupil occurs, or the head is affected. See ATROPIA.

=NIGHTSHADE (Woody).= _Syn._ BITTERSWEET; DULCAMARA (B. P., Ph. L. E. & D.), L. The “new shoots (caules) of _Solanum Dulcamara_, Linn.” “The dried young branches of the _Solanum Dulcamara_ (Bittersweet) from indigenous plants which have shed their leaves” (B. P.). “It is to be collected in autumn, after the leaves have fallen.” (Ph. L.) Diaphoretic, diuretic, and (in large doses) narcotic. See INFUSION OF DULCAMARA.

=NIO′BIUM.= See TANTALUM.

=NIP′PLES (Sore).= The most common form of this affection is that termed “chapped nipples” by nurses. As a preventive measure, the part may be moistened morning and evening, for some weeks before the period of lactation, with a little rum or brandy, which is more effective if slightly acidulated with a few drops of dilute sulphuric acid. Some persons employ tincture of tolu, or compound tincture of benzoin (Friar’s balsam) for this purpose.

When chaps, cracks, or like sores, arising from lactation, are once developed, one of the safest and most effective remedies is tincture of catechu, applied 3 or 4 times a day, by means of a camel-hair pencil.

The celebrated nostrum of Liebert for cracked nipples, “_Cosmétique infaillible et prompt contre les gerçures ou crevasses aux seins et autres_,” is a lotion formed of 10 gr. of nitrate of lead dissolved in 4 fl. oz. of rose water, and tinged with a little cochineal. The parts are moistened with the liquid, and are then covered with fine leaden nipple-shields, two of which are provided for the purpose. This is repeated soon after each time the child leaves the breast; and the nipple is carefully washed with a soft sponge and lukewarm water, and gently dabbed dry with a very soft towel, before the infant is again applied to it. This remedy is very successful, and has acquired great popularity and patronage in Brussels, Paris, Frankfort, and other parts. It must be recollected, however, that all applications of an active or poisonous nature should be employed with the greatest possible caution, as, unless unusual care is taken, a portion of the remedy may remain concealed within the delicate pores of the skin, and be sucked off by the infant, to the serious disturbance of its health.

=NITRAN′ILINE.= This substance is obtained by acting on nitrobenzol with a mixture of fuming nitric acid and oil of vitriol; Dinitro-benzol is formed, which is dissolved in alcohol, and the resulting solution subjected to the reducing action of ammonia and sulphuretted hydrogen, as described under aniline. Nitraniline forms yellow, acicular crystals, little soluble in cold water, but freely soluble in alcohol and ether. Its salts are crystallisable.

=NI′TRATE.= _Syn._ NITRAS, L. A salt of nitric acid (_e.g._ AgNO_{3}, nitrate of silver). The nitrates are very easily prepared by the direct solution of the metal, or its oxide, or carbonate, in nitric acid, which, in most cases, should be previously diluted with water. By evaporation, with the usual precautions, they may be obtained either in the pulverulent or crystalline form.

The nitrates are characterised by deflagrating when thrown on red-hot charcoal; also by their aqueous solutions, after being mixed with half their bulk of strong sulphuric acid and thoroughly cooled, yielding a brown cloud with a crystal or concentrated solution of ferrous sulphate. See NITRIC ACID, and the respective metals.

=NI′TRE.= Nitrate of Potassa. See POTASSIUM.

=NI′TRIC ACID. HNO_{3}.= _Syn._ AZOTIC ACID; ACIDUM NITRICUM (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.); AQUAFORTIS.

_Prep._ 1. (Ph. E. and Ph. L. 1836.) Purified nitre (dried) and sulphuric acid, equal parts; mix in a glass retort, and distil with a moderate heat, from a sand bath (or naked gas flame——Ph. E.) into a cool receiver, as long as the fused materials continue to evolve vapours. “The pale yellow acid thus obtained may be rendered nearly colourless (if desired) by gently heating it in a retort.” (Ph. E.) Sp. gr. 1·500. In the present Ph. L. this acid is included in the materia medica. (See _below_.)

2. (Ph. D.) The nitrate of potassa is dissolved in water, the solution treated with a little nitrate of silver, filtered, evaporated to dryness, weighed, and then treated as above.

3. Nitrate of soda (cubic nitre, Chili saltpetre) is introduced, in quantities varying between 4 and 10 lbs., into a cylindrical iron retort, which it will only half fill, and after the lid is luted on and the connection made with the condensers, an equivalent of oil of vitriol is poured in through an aperture provided for the purpose, and the charge is worked off with a gradually increased heat. The condensing apparatus consists of a series of 5 or 6 salt-glazed stoneware receivers, about 1/6th part filled with cold water. The product of this process is the strongest brown and fuming ‘NITROUS ACID’ of commerce (AQUAFORTIS, FUMING NITRIC ACID; ACIDUM NITROSUM; ACIDUM NITRICUM FUMANS), and has usually the sp. gr. 1·45. It is rendered colourless by gently heating it in a glass retort, when it forms COMMERCIAL NITRIC ACID (sp. gr. 1·37 to 1·4.)

4. (PURE MONOHYDRATED NITRIC ACID.) By mixing the strongest commercial acid with about an equal quantity of oil of vitriol; redistilling; collecting apart the first portion which comes over, and exposing it, in a vessel slightly warmed and sheltered from the light, to a current of dry air made to bubble through it until the nitrous acid is completely removed.

_Prop._ Pure liquid nitric acid is colourless, highly corrosive, and possesses powerful acid and oxygenising properties. The sp. gr. of the strongest liquid acid (monohydrated nitric acid) has the sp. gr. 1·517 at 60° Fahr. “On boiling nitric acid of different degrees of concentration at the ordinary atmospheric pressure, a residue is left boiling at 249° Fahr., and 29 in. barometer, having a sp. gr. 1·414 at 60° Fahr.” (Fownes.) Acid of less density than 1·414 parts with water, and gradually becomes stronger by boiling; but acid of less sp. gr. than 1·414 is weakened by exposure to heat. When exposed to intense cold, liquid nitric acid freezes. It is rapidly decomposed, with loss of oxygen, by contact with most organic and many metallic and non-metallic bodies. In many cases these reactions occur with considerable violence, and the production of light and heat.

_Pur._ The nitric acid of commerce is generally contaminated by hydrochloric acid, nitrous acid, sulphuric acid, or chlorine, or by their soda or potassa salts, and, occasionally, iodine, together with an excess of water. The last is readily detected by the sp. gr., and the others by the appropriate tests. “Colourless. Contains 70% of HNO_{3}. Sp. gr. 1·42. 90 gr. by weight, mixed with 1/2 oz. of distilled water, require for neutralisation 1000 grain measures of the volumetric solution of soda. Evaporated, it leaves no residue. Diluted with six volumes of distilled water, it gives no precipitate with chloride of barium or nitrate of silver——indicating absence of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids.” (B. P.) 5 measures of acid, sp. gr. 1·5, mixed with 2 of water, condensed into 6-1/2 measures, and makes the sp. gr. 1·42. “Free from colour. Sp. gr. 1·42. Exposed to the air, it emits very acrid vapours. Totally volatilised by heat. Diluted with 3 times its volume of water, it gives no precipitate with either nitrate of silver or chloride of barium. 100 gr. of this acid (sp. gr. 1·42) are saturated by 161 gr. of crystallised carbonate of soda.” (Ph. L.) The Ph. E. states the density of commercial nitric acid is 1·380 to 1·390. “If diluted with distilled water it precipitates but slightly, or not at all, with solution of nitrate of baryta or nitrate of silver.” The best ‘double aquafortis’ of the shops (aquafortis duplex) has usually the sp. gr. 1·36; and the single aquafortis (aquafortis simplex), the sp. gr. 1·22; but both are commonly sold at much lower strengths.