Chapter X: Section 3: This Act shall not take effect until the first day of July, (7)

[18] T. Oxley, in the _Journal of the Indian Archipelago_, vol. i, p. 22–30.

A mercantile house in Singapore lately received from Manilla a gum which was supposed by those who sent it to be Gutta Taban, but proved a different substance. It was accompanied by specimens of the tree producing it, and a note stating that the gum abounded in the Philippine Islands. As it will probably make its appearance in England, and perhaps become of some importance, I may add that those specimens presented to me by the merchant, belong to the genus _Ficus_; but whether to a new or an already described species, want of books prevented me from determining.—_Hooker’s Jour. of Botany._

ON GAMBIR.

BY BERTHOLD SEEMAN.

Black pepper (_Piper Nigrum_, Linn.) and Gambir (_Uncaria Gambir_, Roxb.) are grown in great quantities [in Singapore], and exclusively by the Chinese, for both these articles are so exceedingly cheap, that Europeans have not deemed it worth their while to engage in the speculation. Pepper and Gambir plantations are always combined, because the refuse of the gambir leaves serve as an excellent manure for the pepper; and moreover, what is of equal, if not greater importance, kills the Lalang, (_Andropogon caricosus_, Linn.), a plant which, like the couch-grass (_Triticum repens_, Linn.), spreads with astonishing rapidity over the fields, growing so close together and so high, that within a short spate of time valuable plantations {220} are rendered useless, and many have to be given up from the utter impossibility of freeing the ground from this weed.

The process by which gambir is extracted and prepared is simple. The leaves are boiled in water, until all their astringent property is extracted. The decoction is then poured into another vessel, in which it becomes inspissated, and, when nearly dry, is cut in small square pieces, and thus brought into the market. M’Culloch states that sago is used in thickening it. This, however, at least in Singapore, is not the case; but, instead of sago, a piece of wood is dipped into the vessel, by which the desired effect is produced. It must, indeed, be an extraordinary substance, the mere dipping of which into the fluid can cause it to become a thickened mass. I was very eager to obtain a piece of this wood; unluckily, the Chinaman whose laboratory I visited, could not be persuaded to part with his, and a friend of mine, who was exerting himself to procure a sample, had not succeeded at the time of the Herald’s departure: he promised, however, to send it to England, accompanied by the Malayan name, and specimens of the tree.—_Hooker’s Journal of Botany._

ON THE GALBANUM PLANT.

BY F. A. BUSHE.

The author states, that in his travels in Persia he discovered the plant which yields galbanum. In June, 1848, he found it on the declivities of the Demawend. It is a ferula, from the stalks of which a liquid issues abundantly, by the odor and nature of which he immediately recognised galbanum, and his guides assured him, moreover, that galbanum is gathered from this plant. The author has not yet distinctly determined {221} the plant. It appears to differ from _Ferula erubescens_ (_Annales des Sciences_, iii., Sér. 1844, p. 316,) only by the absence of commissural vitæ; but as neither Aucher-Eloy, nor Kotschy, who have both collected the Ferula erubescens, make any mention of its yielding galbanum, the author is in doubt whether his plant be the same, or a variety of it. Don’s genus galbanum (Trib. Sibrinæ) and Lindley’s Opaïdia (Trib. Smyrneæ) do not agree with the plant seen by Bushe, unless that both of these authors have made their descriptions from imperfect fruits, or that there exist other plants which yield galbanum.—The plant which Bushe describes is called in some parts of Persia, _Khassuch_, (not _Kasneh_, which means Cichor intybus, nor Gäshnis, which is Coriand. sativum), and appears to be confined to certain districts of Persia. In the whole large district of the Elburs-chain, from the south-east angle to the south-west angle of the Caspian Sea, it is only found in the neighborhood of the Demawend; but here at an elevation of from 4000 to 8000 feet, and even on the declivity of the top of the Demawend. It exists neither on the mountains of Talysch, nor in the districts of Karadagh and Tabris. It is said to re-appear on the Mount Alwend, near Hamadan, and in the neighborhood of the great salt desert. Near Hamadan Aucher-Eloy has gathered his Ferula erubescene, and this supports the supposition that the author’s plant is the same. In the salt desert itself Bushe did not meet with it again. The inhabitants of the Demawend collect the gum resin, which issues spontaneously from the lower part of the stalk; they do not make incisions in the plant; but it is not at this place that the galbanum is collected for commercial purposes. When fresh, the gum resin is white like milk, liquid, and somewhat glutinous. In the air it soon becomes yellow, elastic, and finally solid. The odor is rather strong, unpleasant, and similar to that of our commercial galbanum.—_Central Blatt_, für 1852, No. xiii.

{222}

EDITORIAL.

THE PREVENTION AND CURE OF MANY CHRONIC DISEASES BY MOVEMENTS. An exposition of the principles and practice of these movements, for the correction of the tendencies to disease in infancy, childhood and youth, and for the cure of many morbid affections of adults. BY M. ROTH, M. D., London, 1851.

Open quackery was at one time contented with the market-place and the stage; its merits and achievements were announced only by the lungs of its professors and their assistants. We have changed all that. Quackery has improved with the age. It has got possession of the newspapers, and forces its way in the pulpit; it has its colleges and graduates, it edits journals and writes books; but it has changed its form, not its spirit; at bottom it is as shameless, and lying and rediculous as ever. While its essence is eternal its form is constantly changing. A variety springs up, flourishes, attains its maturity, then dies away, to be replaced by another, or to be revived in a distant country or a future generation. The facilities of intercommunication afforded by railroad and steam vessels yield the same advantage to imposture and credulity, that they give to science and truth. We import nonsense and humbug as well as silks and dry goods. But as was observed on another occasion, home manufacture has sprung up, and we have become exporters as well as importers. Spiritual knocking are set off against Mesmerism; Thompsonianism is sent in exchange for Hygeia; native Sarsaparillas have driven the foreign from the market; Mormonism goes a long way to balance Homeopathy, while the “Great Harmonican,” in size, in pretension and in absurdity, is scarcely to be rivalled any where in the present age.

The newest delusion that pretends to be a system, Kinesipathy, is, in the country of its origin, already several years old. It comes to us from Sweden, and recommends the treatment of diseases by means of various exercises, and above all, blows on different parts of the body. All these are set forth with the greatest gravity, and defined and commented on with as much precision as if the author was bringing forward a National Pharmacopœia. In the treatment of disease the motives, positions, and blows, are varied in the strangest, and often most ludicrous manner. Witness the following _prescription_ for gonorrhea, which is complete except as the author states “some movements depending on particular circumstances.”

1. “Percussion on the sacrum in the stride standing position.

2. “Transversal chopping on the neck in the sitting position.

3. “Pressure above the os pubis in the lying position, with elevated back, while the separated and bent legs are drawn towards the abdomen. Vibration of the perineum, in the same position.”

“The treatment begins with percussing the sacrum, in the stride standing position, which in the first day or two not only allays and relieves the more violent inflammation and copious secretion, but also changes the whole state of the disease in such a manner, that the following treatment by movements, (different {223} according to the state of the patient,) produces an increased flow of arterial blood in the upper extremities, and the cure is very much accelerated. In the first stage, during which only moderate stitching pains, tension, and little secretion appears; the percussion on the sacrum alone is sufficient, if repeated three or four times daily. If the symptoms become more violent, and accompanied by chordee and pain during urinating, &c., then other movements are necessary, then make use of the transversal chopping of the neck, which acts strongly against the chordee, and of the pressure above the os pubis in the above mentioned lying position, which increases the venous absorption of the bladder and sexual organs, by its effect on the excited nerves of these parts. In the second period if the urinating is very difficult, the perineum swollen and painful, the discharge mixed with blood, and fever is present, then a more general treatment is necessary. To increase the more local absorption in the urethra, vibrations along the whole tract of the perineum from before backward are employed.”

That percussion on the sacrum has long been known as a remedial measure in moral complaints we are perfectly aware, but that it was to become an article of materia medica is something new under the sun!

Kinesipathy has not yet, we believe, been formally introduced into the United States, but we hear that a new set of quacks, who call themselves Psychologists, have adopted something from its rules, and are employing “percussions and flagellations” as one of their means for the cure of the various ills that flesh is heir too.

After all some partial truth, long well known and acted on by the profession, as is the case in most successful quackeries, underlies Kinesipathy. Exercise and stimulation of the external surface, are in themselves exceedingly beneficial, and under the influence of a charlatan, patients will submit to a discipline, which if directed by a physician would never receive more than momentary attention.

PHARMACY IN RICHMOND.—We are glad to see the following call to the Apothecaries of Richmond, in the July number of the American Journal of Pharmacy, and we hope that the example will be imitated in all our towns, in which the number of pharmaceutists is sufficient to form a society. Mutual association is the best means of promoting the true interests and standing of the profession.

“The undersigned, believing that by friendly co-operation among themselves, their respectability will be increased; their standing in the community will become more elevated, faults in their profession be remedied, evils to which they are now subjected be removed; that their art may be more systematized, and better regulated; a more friendly feeling towards each other be excited amongst them, their mutual interests advanced, and the public good promoted; do most earnestly call upon their brethren, engaged in Pharmaceutical pursuits, to meet at the Gentlemen’s Parlor, Exchange Hotel, on Friday evening, 11th inst., at 8 o’clock, for the purpose of considering the advantages that would result to all of them, from the formation of some organized Association, that would have for its {224} object the above named desirable ends; as well as to encourage among themselves mutual improvement in the knowledge so necessary to a proper discharge of those duties, (both to themselves and the public,) which their situations as men occupying positions among the most responsible in life, impose upon them.

As the organization which it is now proposed to form, would contemplate the good of all its Members, it is most earnestly hoped that all the Druggists and Apothecaries who feel any interest in this important subject, will cordially unite their intelligence and talents in an effort to accomplish the above named ends, and that the proper preliminary steps will be taken for the formation of a society of the Apothecaries in this city, which will prove beneficial to its members, an honor to their profession, and a credit to the city of Richmond.”

ANDREW LESLIE, S. M. ZACHRISSON, PURCELL, LADD & CO., SEABROOK & REEVE, ADIE & GRAY, PEYTON, JOHNSTON & BRO., H. BLAIR, CHAS. MILLSPAUGH, ALEX. DUVAL.

_Richmond, June 8th, 1852._

SUPPOSITORIES OF BUTTER OF CACAO.—Butter of cacao has of late been largely employed in the formation of suppositories, for which it is admirably adapted, by its consistence, and by the facility with which it becomes liquid at the temperature of the body. Some times a good deal of difficulty is encountered in incorporating it with laudanum, chloroform, extracts and solutions. In such cases M. Stanislas Martin recommends that the butter be first moulded in the desired form, and that then a cavity be formed in it, by means of an iron wire slightly warmed, sufficiently large to contain the prescribed medicine. The orifice can then be closed with a thin layer of the butter of cacao, formed by rubbing a morsel of it upon an iron spatula, or the blade of a knife slightly warmed in a spirit lamp.

A number of the suppositories thus prepared beforehand, can be preserved in envelopes which serve them for a mould, these being removed only when they are about to be used.

DELEGATES TO THE CONVENTION FOR 1852.

At a meeting of the College of Pharmacy of the City of New York, held June 28th, Messrs. George D. Coggesshall, William Hegeman and L. S. Haskell, were elected Delegates from this College to the National Pharmaceutical Convention, to meet at Philadelphia, on the first Monday in October next. It was resolved that in case of any disability of either of their number to attend, the remaining delegates should be authorised to fill the vacancy.

The re-issue of President Guthrie’s official call for the meeting of the Convention was expected in time for this number of the Journal, but has not been received. It will doubtless appear in our next with a further notice of this important subject.

{225}

NEW YORK

JOURNAL OF PHARMACY.

AUGUST, 1852.

AMOUNT OF LOSS IN POWDERING VARIOUS DRUGS.

The following results are from the mill returns of a drug house in this city. They show the actual loss incurred in powdering these different articles, and are, so far, of service by indicating the practical loss arising from the process.

As the per centage of loss varies very much with the quantity subjected to the process, _ceteris paribus_, the quantities of each parcel are also given.

-------------------+--------+----------++--------+----------++--------+----------++--------+----------
SALTS, CRYSTALINE | |Percentage|| |Percentage|| |Percentage|| |Percentage
SUBSTANCES, &c. |Quantity| of Loss ||Quantity| of Loss ||Quantity| of Loss ||Quantity| of Loss
+--------+----------++--------+----------++--------+----------++--------+----------
| lbs. | || lbs. | || lbs. | || lbs. |
Acid. Tartaric. | 556 | 1.08 || 1426 | 1.61 || 723 | 1.38 || 256 | 4.95
| 554 | 1.44 || | || | || |
Cobalt (Arsenic), | 122 | 1.63 || | || | || |
Aluminæ & Potassæ | | || | || | || |
Sulph. | 74 | 5.40 || 49 | 6.12 || | || |
Ammoniæ Muriat. | 202 | 8.41 || | || | || |
Potassæ Nitrat. | 500 | 3.98 || 190 | 2.36 || 500 | 1.80 || 90 | 3.06
| 300 | 8.17 || | || | || |
——— Sulphat. | 63 | 1.59 || 98 | 3.06 || | || |
——— Bitartrat. | 1166 | .43 || 2121 | .47 || 1007 | .49 || 1115 | .44
| 1115 | .41 || 1160 | .52 || 1116 | .44 || 2650 | .37
| 1068 | .47 || 1163 | .43 || 1155 | .43 || |
Sodæ Biborat. | 110 | 20.91 || 50 | 10.00 || | || |
Soap, Olive Oil, | | || | || | || |
white, | 62 | 33.33 || | || | || |
VEGETABLE SUB- | | || | || | || |
STANCES, BARKS. | | || | || | || |
Canella Alba, | 67 | 4.48 || 50 | 4.04 || | || |
Cassia, | 30 | 5.00 || 74 | 5.40 || | || |
Cinchona | | || | || | || |
Maracaibo, | 165 | 3.94 || 174 | 4.25 || 921 | 4.56 || |
{226} | | || | || | || |
Cinchona Flava, | | || | || | || |
(Calisaya) | 30 | 5.00 || 47 | 4.25 || 40 | 5.00 || |
——— Rubra, | 44 | 4.54 || 160 | 4.05 || 59 | 5.08 || 96 | 4.66
Mezerion, | 32 | 7.81 || | || | || |
Myrica Cerifera, | 85 | 3.53 || 92 | 4.34 || | || |
Prinos verticill.| 24 | 4.16 || | || | || |
Prunus Virginian.| 50 | 4.00 || | || | || |
BERRIES. | | || | || | || |
Capsicum, | 166 | 3.67 || 95 | 3.15 || 64 | 4.69 || 80 | 3.75
Cubeba, | 68 | 4.32 || 50 | 4.00 || 79 | 3.77 || 54 | 3.70
| 92 | 3.26 || | || | || |
GUMS AND RESINS. | | || | || | || |
Aloes Soct, | 220 | 7.27 || 320 | 5.23 || | || |
Acacia, | 225 | 4.00 || 217 | 3.64 || 121 | 4.13 || 75 | 4.69
| 64 | 3.12 || 93 | 3.76 || 64 | 3.12 || |
Catechu, | 70 | 4.28 || 71 | 4.89 || | || |
Euphorbium, | 52 | 3.84 || | || | || |
Gambogia, | 31 | 4.84 || 38 | 3.89 || | || |
Kino, | 50 | 4.00 || 44 | 3.41 || 44 | 3.40 || |
Mastiche, | 15 | 8.47 || | || | || |
Myrrha, | 117 | 4.27 || 35 | 5.71 || | 5.69 || |
Opium, | 70 | 7.14 || 75 | 6.66 || 100 | 5.00 || |
| 50 | 6.00 || 61 | 8.94 || 25 | 6.00 || 95 | 8.42
| 81 | 4.93 || 63 | 6.72 || 100 | 7.25 || 75 | 6.00
| 131 | 6.46 || 62 | 6.78 || 27 | 8.25 || 155 | 5.63
Sanguis Draconis,| 10 | 5.00 || | || | || |
Scammonium | | || | || | || |
Lachrym, | 29 | 6.89 || 9 | 8.33 || 14 | 3.57 || |
| 45 | 4.44 || | || | || 35 | 2.86
Tragacantha, | 30 | 5.00 || 35 | 4.28 || | || |
HERBS. | | || | || | || |
Aconite, | 38 | 5.26 || | || | || |
Cicuta, | 35 | 5.71 || | || | || |
Digitalis, | 47 | 4.25 || 32 | 4.34 || 28 | 3.57 || |
Lobelia, | 28 | 4.38 || 34 | 4.61 || | || |
Hyoscyamus, | 40 | 8.75 || | || | || |
FLOWERS. | | || | || | || |
Arnica, | 17 | 5.88 || | || | || |
Caryophyllus, | 28 | 5.36 || 55 | 2.72 || 50 | 4.00 || |
Humulus, | 268 | 4.10 || 195 | 5.12 || 222 | 3.80 || 252 | 3.57
| 218 | 4.11 || 193 | 4.14 || | || |
FRUIT. | | || | || | || |
Colocynth.[19] | 26 | 65.38 || 55 | 69.09 || | || |
LEAVES. | | || | || | || |
Buchu, | 104 | .96 || | || | || |
Senna Alex. | 41 | 3.61 || 26 | 5.66 || | || |
Senna Indic. | 50 | 3.96 || | || | || |
Uva Ursi, | 42 | 4.70 || 50 | 4.00 || | || |
ROOTS. | | || | || | || |
Calamus, | 27 | 7.41 || | || | || |
{227} | | || | || | || |
Cimicifuga | | || | || | || |
Racemosa, | 69 | 4.34 || | || | || |
Colomba, | 194 | 4.13 || 95 | 2.52 || 79 | 3.79 || 94 | 4.25
Cucuma, ground, | 650 | 3.08 || | || | || |
Gentiana, ground,| 227 | 2.20 || 280 | 2.50 || 149 | 2.68 || |
——— powdered, | 72 | 4.17 || 71 | 4.22 || | || |
Glyyrrh. | 156 | 3.84 || 145 | 4.13 || 70 | 4.11 || 313 | 4.15
Helleborus, | 58 | 4.31 || | || | || |
Hydrastis canad. | 37 | 5.40 || 50 | 5.00 || | || |
Ictodes Fœtidus, | 25 | 4.00 || | || | || |
Inula, | 50 | 4.00 || | || | || |
Ipecac. | 99 | 4.44 || 80 | 3.75 || 109 | 4.13 || 73 | 4.76
| 96 | 4.17 || 321 | 3.42 || | || |
Iris Flor. | 232 | 3.02 || 138 | 3.62 || | || |
Jalap, | 141 | 4.52 || 331 | 3.76 || 193 | 4.39 || 201 | 4.23
| 271 | 3.13 || | || | || |
Rheum Indic. | 96 | 4.16 || 78 | 3.84 || 75 | 4.00 || 40 | 3.75
| 96 | 4.14 || 87 | 3.44 || 98 | 3.57 || 314 | 4.46
——— Russicum, | 28 | 3.57 || 63 | 4.76 || 30 | 4.17 || |
Sanguinaria, | 50 | 3.96 || | || | || |
Salep, | 67 | 6.66 || 25 | 4.00 || | || |
Scilla, | 27 | 11.11 || 81 | 6.17 || 55 | 8.18 || 40 | 13.12
| 30 | 16.66 || | || | || |
Senega, | 59 | 5.08 || | || | || |
Serpentara, | 45 | 4.44 || | || | || |
Spigelia Marilan.| 52 | 4.76 || | || | || |
Valeriana, | 47 | 4.24 || | || | || |
Zingib. Jam. | 114 | 4.37 || 58 | 5.17 || 115 | 4.00 || |
SEEDS. | | || | || | || |
Anisum, | 58 | 4.27 || 102 | 2.94 || | || |
Cardamomum,[20] | 50 | 26.00 || 61 | 4.92 || | || |
Colchicum, | 61 | 4.09 || 37 | 4.00 || | || |
Coriandrum, | 99 | 2.02 || | || | || |
Linum, ground, | 533 | .93 || | .81 || | || |
Lobelia, | 67 | 7.46 || | || | || |
Nux Vomica, | 100 | 3.00 || 52 | 3.84 || 66 | 4.54 || |
SUNDRIES. | | || | || | || |
Cantharis, | 68 | 4.41 || 68 | 4.41 || 65 | 3.82 || 112 | 3.57
| 39 | 3.79 || 41 | 4.88 || 53 | 6.00 || 42 | 3.57
Ext. Colocynth. | | || | || | || |
Comp. | 33 | 4.57 || | || | || |
Ext. Glyyrrh. | 50 | 4.08 || 200 | 3.50 || | || |
Ext. Jalap, | 20 | 4.86 || | || | || |
Galla, | 70 | 4.21 || 73 | 4.11 || 28 | 5.26 || 56 | 3.54
Secale Cornut. | 31 | 4.79 || 29 | 5.08 || 30 | 3.33 || |
-------------------+--------+----------++--------+----------++--------+----------++--------+-------

[19] This includes loss of Seeds.

[20] Of this 21.00 is loss in Hulls.

From the above results the following table, showing the average loss on each article, has been calculated:―

---------------------------+-------------
{228} | Average
| per centage
| of Loss.
+-------------
SALTS, CRYSTALINE |
SUBSTANCES, &c. |
Acid, Tartaric | 1.50
Cobalt (Arsenic) | 1.63
Aluminæ et Potassæ, | 5.76
sulphat. (calcined) |
Ammoniæ Muriat. | 8.41
Potassæ Nitrat. | 2.80
——— Sulphat. | 2.37
——— Bi-tartrat. | .45
Sodæ Bi-Borat. | 15.45
Soap, Olive Oil, white | 33.33
VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. |
BARKS. |
Cannella Alba | 4.26
Cassia | 5.20
Cinchona Maracaibo | 4.25
——— Flava (Calisaya) | 4.75
——— Rubra | 4.58
Mezerion | 7.81
Myrica Cerifera | 3.98
Prinos Verticill. | 4.16
Prunus Virginian. | 4.00
BERRIES. |
Capsicum | 3.81
Cubeba | 3.81
GUMS AND RESINS. |
Aloes Soct. | 6.25
Acacia | 3.78
Catechu | 4.58
Euphorbium | 3.84
Gambogia | 4.36
Kino | 3.60
Mastiche | 8.47
Myrrha | 3.15
Opium | 6.61
Sanguis Draconis | 5.00
Scammonium Lachrym | 5.22
Tragacantha | 4.64
Spegelia Mariland. | 4.76
HERBS. |
Aconite | 5.26
Cicuta | 5.71
Digitalis | 4.04
Lobelia | 4.49
Hyosciamus | 8.75
FLOWERS. |
Arnica | 5.88
Caryoph. | 4.03
Humulus | 4.14
FRUIT. |
Colocynth. | 67.23
LEAVES. |
Buchu | .96
Senna Alex. | 4.63
——— Ind. | 3.96
Uva Ursi | 4.35
ROOTS. |
Calamus | 7.41
Cimicituga Racemosa | 4.34
Colomba | 3.47
Curcuma ground, | 3.08
Gentian. ground, | 2.46
——— powdered | 2.20
Glyyrrh. | 4.06
Helleborus | 4.31
Hydrastis Canad. | 5.20
Iclodes Fœtidus | 4.00
Inula | 4.00
Ipecacuanha | 4.10
Iris Flor. | 3.34
Jalap | 4.00
Rheum Indicum | 3.91
——— Russic. | 4.17
Sanguinaria | 3.96
Salep | 3.84
Scilla | 9.43
Senega | 5.08
Serpentaria | 4.44
Lobelia | 7.46
{229} |
Valerian. | 4.24
Zingib. Jam. | 4.51
SEEDS. |
Anisum | 3.60
Cardamom. | 4.92
Colchicum | 4.05
Coriandrum | 2.02
Linum (ground,) | .87
Nux Vomica | 3.79
SUNDRIES. |
Cantharis. | 4.31
Ext. Coloc. comp. | 4.54
Ext. Glyyrrh. | 6.25
Ext. Jalap | 4.87
Galla | 4.34
Secale Cornutum | 4.39

ON THE PREPARATIONS OF IRON USED IN MEDICINE.

BY HENRY WURTZ.

The preparations of iron being among the most important articles of the Pharmacopœia, it is surprising that so little attention is paid by many druggists and pharmaceutists to the preparation and preservation of these articles in a pure state. The greater part of the preparations of iron to be found in the shops are far from having the chemical composition indicated by their labels, and in fact, few of the formulas given in any of the Pharmacopœias for preparations of iron, are capable of giving even tolerably pure products.

If there is any difference in a therapeutical point of view, between compounds of the protoxide and compounds of the peroxide of iron, and if any value is to be attached to definite composition in medicines, enabling physicians to administer _known quantities_ to their patients, this state of affairs should not exist. Persons who handle the compounds of protoxide of iron, should be aware of the fact that few substances are more speedily and completely destroyed than these by the action of {230} moist air; thus, one hundred parts of the _carbonate of iron_, require less than seven parts of oxygen for complete conversion into _sesquioxide of iron_, and one hundred parts of pure _copperas_ require less than _three_ parts of the same element to effect a like change in all the protoxide of iron which it contains.

As these protoxide of iron compounds, however, oxydate themselves only in the presence of water, the mode of preservation which I would propose, is very simple: It is only necessary to dry them perfectly and to introduce into the vessels in which they are to be preserved, a few small lumps of _quicklime_, which will keep the air in the interior of the vessel continually dry. To prevent any contamination of the preparation by direct contact with the lime, the latter must be securely folded in one or two thicknesses of filtering paper.

The iodide of iron and the carbonate, phosphate, arseniate, lactate and citrate of protoxide of iron may be preserved in this way, also the anhydrous sulphate (Ferri Sulphas Siccatum), but it is evident that _crystallized_ copperas would not retain a definite composition under these circumstances, because it would soon lose its crystal water. To preserve crystallized copperas, it is best to pulverize the crystals rather finely and dry the powder by repeatedly pressing strongly between folds of filtering paper, before putting up. Some have attempted to preserve the crystals under the surface of strong alcohol, but having tried this plan I must report unfavorably, for although the copperas remained for a while intact, yet, on examination after a considerable lapse of time, a large proportion of sesquioxide of iron was found. In fact, this result was to be anticipated in consideration of the well-known fact that strong alcohol has itself an attraction for oxygen, and always absorbs a certain amount of it when exposed to the air, serving thus merely as a medium for transmitting oxygen to any copperas which may be immersed in it.

I think it may be confidently stated that none of the protoxide compounds of iron should be kept in solution, either in water or alcohol, for medical purposes, unless in vessels {231} hermetically closed. Some say, notwithstanding, that _iodide of iron_ in solution may be preserved by keeping in it a piece of metallic iron, a deposite being formed, however, in the liquid which is supposed to be nothing more than sesquioxide of iron, but in which I strongly suspect the presence of a _subiodide of iron_, and consequent abstraction of iodine from the solution. Of course, however, this question can only be settled by a chemical examination of the deposit alluded to.

The sulphate of iron is the starting point in preparing all the compounds of iron which are used in medicine, and it is important therefore, to know how to separate easily the impurities which are contingent to this extremely cheap article of commerce. The impurities which commercial copperas most frequently contains are more or less sulphate of sesquioxide, together with a little sesquichloride of iron, and more rarely, traces of the sulphate of copperas, manganese, alumina and lime. A small addition of _oxide of silver_ to the solution will precipitate all chlorine present, and subsequent digestion for a few minutes with _carbonate of baryta_ will remove every trace of sulphate of sesquioxide of iron, and of alumina. Copper may, of course, be removed by immersion of metallic iron. Traces of lime may be separated by recrystallization, but if traces of _manganese_ are present, as is sometimes the case, I, know no way by which it can be separated. I am not aware, however, that the presence of such a trace of manganese in a preparation of iron would impair its therapeutical value. Another method of getting rid of the sulphate of sesquioxide is to acidulate the solution with sulphuric acid and, agitate with some pulverized _protosulphide of iron_, which will reduce the sesquioxide to protoxide.

When a solution of pure sulphate of protoxide of iron, free from sesquioxide, merely is required for preparing the carbonate or other insoluble protocompound, the method with carbonate of baryta is to be preferred, and in some rare cases when the presence of sulphate of lime in the solution of copperas obtained is of no importance, carbonate of lime may be {232} substituted for carbonate of baryta, and will accomplish the same object.

When a solution of pure protosulphate of iron thus obtained is used for the preparation of carbonate of iron, care must be taken to use for precipitating, a solution of carbonate of soda which is free from silica, phosphoric acid, etc., which if present would surely go down with the precipitate. The precipitated carbonate should be washed with water which has been freed from _air_ by previous boiling and better with water which is still boiling hot, dried as quickly as possible, first by pressure between folds of paper and then in a water bath, and preserved in well closed vessels containing lumps of quicklime as recommended above.

The formulas given in the Pharmacopœias for the preparation of the sesquioxide of iron, which besides being employed as a remedy itself, is used in preparing all the other sesquicompounds of iron used in Pharmacy, appear to be open to great objection on the ground of affording, instead of a pure sesquioxide of iron, an _indefinite mixture_ of sesquioxide with carbonate of the protoxide. No necessity whatever exists for this; the following _modus operandi_, besides being much less troublesome in its execution than those given by the Pharmacopœias, will furnish a product of constant composition, being an anhydrous sesquioxide of iron free from protoxide, and either chemically pure or very nearly so. The materials required are, five parts of commercial copperas which has been recrystallized once or twice, six parts of crystallized pure carbonate of soda, (Na O, C O^2 + 10 HO) or two parts of dry carbonate of soda, and one part of nitrate of soda. (Chili saltpetre). The carbonate and nitrate of soda are dissolved together in one portion of hot water and the copperas in another portion, and the two solutions, after filtrating mixed together, evaporated to dryness and the dry mass exposed to the lowest possible red heat for a few minutes. On pouring water upon the mass thus obtained, sulphate of soda and nitrate of soda dissolve and sesquioxide of iron separates as a heavy powder very easily washed {233} by decantation. When thoroughly washed and dried it appears as a dark reddish brown _perfectly impalpable_ powder, which is perfectly and easily soluble in dilute acids, and even in acetic acid and the composition of which is Fe^2 O^3.

One great advantage of this process, is an avoidance of the immense tedium of _washing the precipitates_ obtained in the ordinary processes.

I have but one more suggestion to make with regard to preparations of iron, and that is in the preparation of _Ferri Pulvis_ or powder of iron by reduction of the sesquioxide—to propose the substitution of common coal gas as a reducing agent for the hydrogen gas directed by all the formulas, the former being obviously so vastly more convenient and far less expensive.

NOTE ON THE PREPARATION OF BESTUCHEFF’S TINCTURE.

BY FR. MAŸER.

Pure sesqui-chloride and poto-chloride of iron are unknown to the Pharmacopœia of the United States, a fact which seems strange to a German pharmaceutist, since they are met with in every German dispensatory, and require great care for their proper preparation.

The American Pharmacopœia indeed recognizes a tincture of chloride of iron, prepared by dissolving the sub-carbonate (sesqui oxide) of iron in hydrochloric acid, and adding alcohol. This tincture would be rejected throughout Germany, since they endeavor there to obtain the preparations of perchloride of iron free from any traces of sesqui-chloride, while those of the sesqui-chloride should contain no admixture of the proto salt. This shows the practical character of the American {234} Pharmacopœia, which does not demand of the apothecary a purity of preparation which it is next to impossible to meet.

While making this acknowledgment, a good formula for the preparation of sesqui-chloride of iron still remains desirable.—This drug too, is sometimes used in American practice, as may be seen from the “Notes on Pharmacy,” by Mr. Benjamin Canavan, in the May number of the _New York Journal of Pharmacy_. Mr. Canavan has given one of the oldest formulæ from the Austrian Pharmacopœia of 1820, as found in the _Pharmacopie Universelle_ by Jourdan. This formula directs us to dissolve the iron in a kind of aqua regia, and then to evaporate the superfluous acid by means of a sand bath. The sesqui-chloride thus obtained is employed in the preparation of “Bestucheff’s tincture,” by dissolving one ounce of it in an ounce of water, adding twelve ounces of ether and agitating, then decanting the ethereal solution, and finally mixing it with four times its bulk of alcohol.

Having had frequent occasion to prepare this tincture as well in Germany as in this city, it may not be unsuitable if I give here the formula for its preparation, which seems to me the most convenient, as well as my reasons for thinking so.

The sesqui-chloride of iron may be obtained in a pure and neutral state, by passing a current of chlorine gas through a solution of proto-chloride of iron, until a solution of the red ferrocyanide of potassium of Gmelin no longer produces a blue precipitate, and then evaporating the solution by means of a water bath. In this manner the salt can readily be obtained in a crystalline form. One ounce of the crystals thus obtained is to be dissolved in twelve ounces of ether, if we retain the alleged proportions, mixed with four times its bulk of alcohol, and finally bleached by exposing it to the direct light of the sun.

The Prussian Pharmacopœia of 1846 gives the following proportions:—One drachm of the sesqui-chloride of iron, or two drachms of the aqueous solution, one fluid ounce of ether, and three fluid ounces of alcohol. {235}

Here we have to notice,—1st, That it is preferable to take ether and alcohol by weight rather than by measure, since their volume is very much influenced by the temperature, which may range from 32° to 60° or 80.°

2nd, That the sesqui-chloride, prepared with nitro-nuriatic acid, is not so easy to obtain in crystals, in consequence of the adhering nitro-nuriatic acid, which is always retained in small quantities. On the other hand, by drying the salt you will, in almost every case, spoil a quantity of it by driving off too much of the acid.

3rd, That the sesqui-chloride of iron, if in crystals, is easily and wholly soluble in ether, while the aqueous solution of it is but partially so, a portion being decomposed, as is evidenced by the solution becoming muddy. The ethereal solution, if prepared in the last mentioned manner, must be of uncertain strength, which is avoided by the first.

In Europe Bestucheff’s tincture is much used by physicians. It sometimes agrees better in the bleached state, sometimes when colored. When first prepared the tincture has a yellow hue, which it loses by exposure to the light of the sun. If, after it has thus been bleached, it is placed in a dark closet, it again becomes yellowish, though the color is not so deep as at first.

ON SOCOTRINE ALOE JUICE, OR LIQUID SOCOTRINE ALOES.

BY JONATHAN PEREIRA, M. D., F. R. S.,

(Physician to the London Hospital.)

It has long been known that the Socotrine aloes imported into England varies considerably in its consistency, and is sometimes met with in a soft or semi-fluid state. Frequently, on opening a package of this sort of aloes, the interior is found to {236} be quite soft, while the exterior is firm and hard. In general this arises from insufficient evaporation of the aloe juice.

In the third edition of my _Elements of Materia Medica_, (vol. ii., part 1, p. 1077, published in 1850,) I have briefly referred to a soft or semi-liquid Socotrine aloes, which had a bright or palm-oil yellow color and odor. At that time I had but little opportunity of investigating this very interesting drug; but a large importation of it having recently taken place, I have more fully examined it, and, as it appears to me to be the raw or unboiled juice of the plant yielding what is known in commerce as Socotrine aloes, I propose to distinguish it from the ordinary soft Socotrine aloes by the name of “_Socotrine Aloe Juice_.”

Messrs. Horner, the holders of the whole of the present importation of this juice, inform me that it was purchased of the Arabs up the Red Sea, by a merchant, who was assured by the venders that it was very fine aloe juice, and had not been boiled or otherwise altered. It was imported into London by way of Madras, in casks each containing six cwt. I am informed that the contents of some of the packages have undergone decomposition during the voyage.

Its consistence is that of treacle or very thin honey; its color deep orange or palm oil yellow; its odor powerful, fragrant, and resembling that of fine Socotrine aloes. By standing it separates into two parts,—an inferior, paler colored, opaque, finely granular portion, and a superior, darker colored, transparent liquid. The latter forms, however, a very small portion of the whole mass.

When the granular portion is submitted to microscopic examination, it is found that the opacity and granular appearance arise from myriads of beautiful prismatic crystals. If a temperature of 132° Fah. be applied to the juice these crystals melt or dissolve, and the juice becomes deep red and transparent; and when the liquid becomes cold it retains its transparency, and does not deposit any crystals. By evaporation the juice yields a solid, transparent extract, having all the {237} characters of fine Socotrine aloes, in which no traces of crystalline texture can be discovered. Mr. Jacob Bell has ascertained that 14 lbs. of the juice yield 8lbs. 12ozs. of solid extract, or 62 1/2 per cent. when the juice is mixed with cold distilled water, it becomes opaque yellow, and renders the water turbid, but is not miscible with it. If, however, heat be applied, the juice dissolves in the water, forming an almost clear, rich red liquid. As the solution cools, it at first becomes turbid, owing to the separation of an opaque yellow precipitate, which, apparently, is the crystalline principle in an amorphous form. This gradually separates from the liquid and collects as a clear resiniform mass (commonly called the _resin_ of aloes) at the bottom of the vessel, leaving the supernatant liquid tolerably clear. If the juice be shaken up with rectified spirit of wine, an uniform clear mixture is obtained, from which numerous yellow crystals rapidly fall to the bottom of the liquid. Similar results are obtained when we mix the juice with equal parts of rectified spirit of wine and water.

This crystalline constituent of Socotrine aloes is doubtless, either the _aloin_[21] described by Messrs. T. & H. Smith, of Edinburgh, and by Dr. Stenhouse, or a principle closely allied to it.

Dr. Stenhouse, to whom I have given a sample of it, is now engaged in its investigation; and in a letter which I have received from him, he says, that though he has not been able to get the aloin ready for analysis, yet from the experiments he has already made with it, he has scarcely a doubt that it will be found identical with that formerly obtained from Barbados aloes. It forms, he adds, a precisely similar combination with bromine, and, in short, agrees with it in every particular; I shall, therefore, provisionally term this crystalline principle the _aloin of Socotrine aloes_. On comparing it with a fine specimen of aloin, kindly presented to me by Messrs. Smith, I find its crystals smaller and more tapering—the summits of the crystals being more acute.

[21] See New York Journal of Pharmacy, No. vi. page 177.

In drying, the crystals of the Socotrine aloin have a strong {238} tendency to break up; so that crystals which in the moist state are moderately large and regular, become small and pulverulent when dry. Like the aloin crystals of Messrs. Smith, the aloin crystals of Socotrine aloes, strongly doubly refract and depolarize light, and are, therefore, beautiful objects when viewed by the polarizing microscope.

The crystals of aloin contained in Socotrine aloe juice cannot be confounded with the crystals of oxalate and phosphate of lime found in the juices of various plants, and which are called by botanists _raphides_. The appearance under the microscope of the former is very different from that of the latter. Moreover, the ready fusibility, solubility, and complete combustibility of aloin crystals easily distinguish them from the calcareous salts just referred to. On platinum foil the aloin burns without leaving any residue, except such as may arise from the presence of traces of some foreign matter.

Aloin may be readily obtained from the juice by mixing the latter with spirit (either rectified or proof,) and collecting and drying the precipitate. When procured in this way it appears to the naked eye like a yellow powder; but when examined by the microscope it is found to consist of minute fragments of crystals.

The tincture from which the aloin has been separated, yields by distillation a spirit having the fragrant odor of the juice; showing that the latter contains some volatile odorous principle. By evaporation the tincture yields a resiniform extract.

In the first edition of my _Elements of Materia Medica_, published 1840, I have stated, that by digesting hepatic aloes in rectified spirit of wine, a yellowish granular powder is obtained which is insoluble in [cold] water, alcohol, ether, and dilute sulphuric acid, but is readily soluble in a solution of caustic potash, forming a red colored liquid. The powder like residue here referred to, is identical with the aloin of Socotrine aloes. When examined by the microscope, it is perceived to consist of very minute prismatic crystals, which depolarize polarized light like the larger crystals of aloin above referred to. I {239} think, therefore, that it may be safely inferred that hepatic aloes has been prepared without the employment of artificial heat, and that its opacity is due to the presence of minute crystals of aloin.

When Socotrine aloes is digested in rectified spirit, an insoluble portion is also obtained; but its color, instead of being yellow, as in hepatic aloes, is dark brown. On submitting this dark brown insoluble portion to microscopic examination, I find that it contains depolarizing crystals.

Artificial Socotrine aloes (prepared by evaporating this aloe juice) also yields, when digested in rectified spirit, a dark brown insoluble portion.

I think, therefore, that Socotrine aloes differs from hepatic aloes in the circumstance of its having been prepared by the aid of artificial heat; by which its aloin constituent has become altered. This inference is further substantiated by the fact, that after it has been melted, hepatic aloes is found to have acquired the clearness and transparency of the Socotrine sort.

The clear supernatant portion of aloe juice, from which the above crystals have subsided, would probably also yield, by spontaneous evaporation, an extract resembling, or identical with, Socotrine aloes.

That Socotrine and hepatic aloes were obtained from the same plant, and were not different species of aloes, I have long suspected; and in the first edition of my work on Materia Medica, published in 1840, I have observed that “the similarity of the odor of Socotrine and hepatic aloes leads to the suspicion that they are obtained from the same plant; and which is further confirmed by the two being sometimes brought over intermixed, the Socotrine occasionally forming a vein in a cask of the hepatic aloes.”

The intermixture of the two sorts of aloes in the same cask might be explained by supposing that the consolidation of the clear portion of the juice has produced the so-called Socotrine aloes; while the opaque aloin containing portion of juice has yielded what is termed hepatic aloes. {240}

In the third edition of my work above alluded to, I have stated that the name of _opaque liver-colored Socotrine aloes_ might with propriety be applied to hepatic aloes. But until the present time I have been unable to offer a plausible explanation of the cause of the difference in these two commercial kinds of aloes.

From the preceding remarks I think we may infer:

1. That _aloin_ pre-exists in a crystalline form in the juice of Socotrine aloes.

2. That the substance which deposits as a decoction of Socotrine aloes cools, and which is usually termed the _resin_ or the _resinoid_ of Socotrine aloes, is the aloin in a modified state.

3. That hepatic aloes[22] is the juice of the Socotrine aloes plant which has been solified without the aid of artificial heat.

4. That hepatic aloes owes its opacity to the presence of minute crystals of aloin.

5. That the juice of Socotrine aloes yields, when evaporated by artificial heat, an extract possessing all the properties of commercial Socotrine aloes.—_Pharm. Journ. April, 1852._

[22] By the term “_hepatic aloes_” I mean the opaque liver-colored aloes imported into England from the East Indies (usually from Bombay). This sort of aloes is very different from the _hepatic Barbadoes aloes_, which formerly appears to have been exclusively called “hepatic aloes.”

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COD-LIVER OIL.

BY DR. H. L. WINCKLER.

Of all the drugs which have been introduced into medical practice within the last ten years, none has excited so much attention, and has met with so favorable a reception, as cod-liver oil. To what principles its peculiar properties are to be referred, has not yet been ascertained. By some they have been attributed {241} to the presence of a small quantity of iodine; but this has not proved a satisfactory explanation. Many chemists have endeavoured to solve this problem, but without success.—Amongst others, Dr. de Jongh, who attributed its virtue to gaduin—a new principle which he had discovered in the oil, with the usual fatty acids, and some of the constituents of bile, and traces of iodine and bromine.

The results of my researches are different, in an important degree. According to my experience, cod-liver oil is _an organic whole_ of a peculiar character, differing in its chemical composition from any of the fat oils which have been heretofore applied to medical purposes.

The evidences for this conclusion are the following:―

1. When the clear, pale cod-liver oil is saponified with potash, and the resulting soap treated with tartaric acid, oleic and margaric acids are obtained.

2. When a mixture of six parts of caustic potash, twenty-four parts of distilled water, and twenty-four parts of cod-liver oil, after being allowed to remain at an ordinary temperature, and often shaken, and finally diluted with twenty-four parts of distilled water, is distilled, a distillate is obtained, which possesses an intense odor of cod-liver oil, and contains an appreciable quantity of a peculiar organic compound, namely, oxide of propyl.

3. When nine parts of cod-liver oil are saponified with five parts of oxide of lead, with the necessary quantity of distilled water, in a porcelain vessel, by the heat of a water bath, the oil is decomposed into oleic and margaric acids, and a new acid propylic acid. The chief part of this acid combines, like the oleic and margaric acids, with the oxide of lead, as it appears, to form a basic compound; and another lead salt, probably an acid one, can be washed out of the plaister with distilled water. It is worthy of remark, that no glycerine is formed in this process. The plaister smells of train oil and herrings; and when it is exposed in a thin layer to the action of the atmosphere in a water bath, it becomes colored dark brown, after the {242} evaporation of the water; and by the same means it loses its penetrating odor. The cause of the coloring is due to the strong disposition which the salts of propylic acid possess to oxidize, and consequently, to become brown. When the solution of the acid propylate of lead is treated with sulphuretted hydrogen, after the separation of the sulphuret of lead, is obtained an entirely colorless and strongly acid reacting solution, which by evaporation in a water bath, becomes by degrees colored. At the commencement of the last part of the operation it loses its penetrating odor, and at last leaves a dark brown residue. Exactly in the same manner, the watery solutions of neutral propylates of barytes and ammonia behave themselves. The neutral, colorless, and undecomposed ammoniacal salt smells of herrings; and the baryta salt, as concentrated decoction of meat.

4. When the before-described (No. 2) solution of cod-liver oil soap is thrown into a capacious distillery apparatus, with the addition of caustic lime and chloride of ammonium, (in the proportion of six drachms of caustic potash, three ounces of cod-liver oil, six ounces of water, six ounces of fresh burnt lime, and one drachm of chloride of ammonium,) with the precaution, that the mixture of lime and chloride of ammonium be not added until the soap is formed in the retort, so that it may penetrate thoroughly the mass, and the distillation proceeded with by means of a gentle heat, as the formation of hydrate of lime evolves considerable heat, there distils rather quickly a clear, watery fluid, over which is a concentrated solution of propylamin free from ammonia. By saturating this solution with diluted sulphuric acid, and adding alcohol, sulphate of propylamin readily crystallizes out of it.

This simple experiment serves to prove, with certainty, that cod-liver oil contains oxide of propyl. The propylamin thus obtained possesses all the properties of that obtained from the pickle of herrings, or ergot of rye.

Cod-liver oil by saponification with potash, is separated into oleic and margaric acids, and _oxide of propyl_; and with oxide {243} of lead, into oleic and margaric acids, and propylic acid—a higher result of the oxidation of propyl—and gives by either process of saponification no _hydrate of the oxide of glycyl_. The glycyl (C‗{6} H‗{3}) is in this oil replaced by propyl (C‗{6} H‗{7}). Only in cod-liver oil are the conditions offered for the formation of propylamin (N H‗{2} C‗{6} H‗{7}), by the presence of ammonia, as all the fat oils employed in medicine are free from this substance; therefore none of these oils can be substituted for cod-liver oil.